"We will continue to monitor the safety of these vaccines and we will continue to work with partners, both within the federal government and with health care providers and provider organizations to better understand these types of adverse events."
During the pandemic over 5.1 million Covid-19 cases have occurred among children ages 5 through 11 according to a presentation at the meeting from the CDC's Dr.In April unvaccinated children between the ages of 5 to 17 overall had a two times greater risk of testing positive for Covid-19 than unvaccinated children with the primary series of the vaccine.Among adolescents ages 12 to 17, the cumulative rates of Covid-19 hospitalizations are "considerably higher" than for flu during all prior flu seasons, Oliver, a member of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service told the committee.
For children ages 6 through 11, the Moderna vaccine is administered as a two-dose series at 50 micrograms per dose.Adolescents ages 12 through 17 receive the same amount that is administered in adults -- a two-dose series at 100 micrograms per dose.Moderna's vaccine is already available for people ages 6 months through 5 years and 18 and older.People ages 6 to 17 were already eligible to be vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine."There are 25 million unvaccinated children and adolescents right now.Some children and adolescents, depending on their age, who have received the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine are eligible for a booster dose.Addressing confusing labelsThe CDC promised its independent vaccine adviser committee that it would create multiple fact sheets and more education opportunities for vaccine administrators due to what it called a "confusing label situation" with Moderna's vaccine vials.To distinguish between vials, Moderna has used different color caps and has used a different color border around the label.Several vaccine advisory committee members urged Moderna and Pfizer to simplify the Covid-19 vaccine vial design.