The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this Thursday approved the emergency vaccination against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus for children under the age of five.
For this reason, children older than six months who have received two doses of the vaccine may opt for a third booster shot specifically designed to work against infections omicron.
The FDA had previously approved its use in children between the ages of five and 11 who are eligible for a “bivalent booster” – which serves both the original variants of the coronavirus and the currently most prevalent Omicron subvariants.
The bivalent boosters were developed to combat a possible new wave of infections this autumn and winter, which health authorities have been warning of for months, could happen if people don’t take extreme precautions.
Because US health officials failed to get approval for any of the new money requests US health officials submitted to the country’s Congress, they have been forced to cut programs like free testing to ensure vaccine supplies.
Experts like the coordinator of the emergency team, on the other hand COVID-19 of the White House, Ashish Jha, or the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rochelle Walensky, have been warning in the media for months that the lack of funding could put the US at risk of acquiring vaccines and treatments against the world the disease.
More than a million people have died from the disease in the country of 332 million people, the highest number on record anywhere in the world.