COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations for Children and Teens
What You Need to Know CDC recommends everyone ages 5 years and older get vaccinated against COVID-19. Everyone ages 12 years and older should also get a COVID-19 booster shot. Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is the only vaccine authorized or approved for children ages 5 through 17 years. Children and teens need two doses of a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Everyone ages 12 years and older should also get a booster shot. Learn more about staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines, including when to get each shot. For information on an additional primary dose for children ages 5 years and older who have a weakened immune system, visit COVID-19 Vaccines for Moderately or Severely Immunocompromised People.
COVID-19 Vaccine Dosage Is Based on Age on the Day of Vaccination, Not on Weight
12- through 17-year-olds receive the same dose of thePfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as adults. 5- through 11-year-olds receive a smaller dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine that is appropriate for this younger age group. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 through 11 years has the same active ingredients as the vaccine given to people ages 12 years and older. However, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for teens and adults cannot be used for children ages 5 through 11 years. Children and Teens Who Have Already Had COVID-19 Should Still Get Vaccinated Emerging evidence indicates that people can get added protection by getting vaccinated after having been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. So even if a child has had COVID-19, they should still get vaccinated. Read the science about immunity from COVID-19 infection and vaccination.
The pandemic has led to severe global socioeconomic disruption, the postponement or cancellation of sporting, religious, and cultural events, and widespread fears of supply shortages which have spurred panic buying. Schools and universities have closed either on a nationwide or local basis in more than 160 countries, affecting more than 1.5 billion students. Misinformation and conspiracy theories about the virus have spread online and there have been incidents of xenophobia and racism against Chinese, and other East and Southeast Asian people. As the pandemic spreads and hotspots form around the globe, such as those in Europe and the United States, discrimination against people from these hotspots has also occurred.
