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The CDC makes Moderna’s COVID-19 shots another option for kids 6-17

The age group has been able to get shots made by Pfizer since last year.

A 12-year-old receiving a COVID-19 vaccine at a Los Angeles mobile clinic in June 2021.
A 12-year-old receiving a COVID-19 vaccine at a Los Angeles mobile clinic in June 2021.Read moreIrfan Khan / MCT
    by Mike Stobbe, Associated Press
    Published 

NEW YORK — There is now a second COVID-19 option for kids ages 6 to 17 in the U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday announced it is recommending Moderna shots as an option for school-age kids and teens. This group has been able to get shots made by Pfizer since last year.

CDC sets the federal government’s vaccine guidance for U.S. doctors and their patients.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized the shots — full-strength doses for children ages 12 to 17 and half-strength for those 6 to 11. The doses are to be given about a month apart. An expert advisory panel this week voted unanimously to recommend that CDC endorse the Moderna shots, too.

Moderna officials have said they expect to later offer a booster to all kids ages 6 to 17.