London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 19, 2025

Covid vaccines for kids under 5 are nearly here. Here’s what you need to know.

Covid vaccines for kids under 5 are nearly here. Here’s what you need to know.

Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines will soon be available for all kids older than 6 months.

The Food and Drug Administration has newly approved two covid-19 vaccines for young children, and approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to follow in the coming days. But we already know that parents have lots of questions about these new vaccines. Some surveys indicate that just 1 in 5 parents of kids under 5 are going to vaccinate their children right away. Others plan to wait and see. But one of the reasons the FDA approved the vaccines unanimously is that they are considered safe and effective at reducing risks — not just for kids, but for everyone kids interact with — from covid-19 and its variants.

We asked Public Health Reporter Jonathan Lambert about the latest news on the covid vaccines now available for children and the questions many parents have about them.

Grid: When and where is a covid-19 vaccine available for my child?


Jonathan Lambert: Right now, kids over 5 years old are eligible to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Kids over 12 get the same dosage as adults, and 5- to 11-year-olds get slightly less vaccine. Kids can get them from their local health providers, pharmacies and covid vaccination sites, depending on the state. Boosters are recommended for this age group too, but not until five months after the initial vaccination.

Kids under 5 are not currently eligible for vaccines, but the FDA recently authorized both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for kids as young as 6 months old. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still must sign off, which experts expect will happen, and shots could be available for youngsters as soon as Monday. The administration says it’s made 10 million kid-sized doses available for distribution once the vaccines get the final thumbs-up.

G: Why should kids and teens get vaccinated if illness tends to be less severe?


JL: It’s true that children have lower risk of serious illness and death from covid, but it’s still a dangerous disease and is deadlier than the flu. So far, 481 kids under 4 have died from covid, along with 366 5- to 11-year-olds, 382 12- to 15-year-olds and 310 16- to 17-year-olds, according to CDC data. More than 130,000 children have been hospitalized.

Vaccination also reduces the chance that kids will spread the virus to others and lessens risk of other complications, including a serious inflammatory condition and long covid.

G: Is the covid-19 vaccine free for children and teenagers in the U.S.?


JL: Yes, anyone currently eligible for a covid vaccine can get one free of charge, including children and teenagers.

G: What are the common side effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna covid-19 vaccine on children?


JL: Both vaccines are safe for kids, and side effects tended to be like what some adults experience after covid vaccines. Pain and swelling at the injection site are commonly reported, along with irritability, fatigue, decreased appetite, fever, headache and chills. These tend to resolve quickly, and Pfizer-BioNTech’s lower dose regime was associated with fewer side effects than Moderna’s.

Very rarely, cases of myocarditis and pericarditis, or inflammation of the heart, have been reported after covid vaccination for younger males (12 to 29 years old). But research has shown that people are about 17 times more likely to get myocarditis from the virus itself, making vaccination the better option.

G: Can children still get covid-19 even after they are vaccinated?


JL: Yes. The vaccines significantly reduce the chance of getting infected and sick, but they’re not perfect, especially against new omicron variants. For example, one study found that during the omicron surge, protection against infection from two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech fell from 66 percent to 51 percent, and protection against hospitalization dropped from 100 percent to 48 percent for 12- to 17-year-olds.

Moderna’s newly approved vaccine was 50 percent effective in preventing symptomatic illness in kids 6 to 23 months old, and about 37 percent effective for kids 2 to 5.

G: Should you get the covid-19 vaccine if you already had covid-19 and recovered?


JL: Yes. Getting vaccinated will lessen a kid’s chance of getting covid again and will train their immune system to better recognize SARS-CoV-2, which increases the odds that the body will fight off the virus more quickly, and with fewer symptoms, than if they weren’t vaccinated.

G: Which covid-19 vaccine should your child get?


JL: Whichever vaccine is available. Right now, there’s not enough real-world data to make direct comparisons of the two vaccines’ effectiveness in reducing infection or serious illness.

G: Does the covid-19 vaccine reduce the risk of getting “long covid” for children?


JL: The short answer is likely yes, but scientists are still working out by how much. In adults it may occur in as many as 1 in 5 cases. A recent study suggests as many as 25 percent of children and adolescents experience symptoms for longer than 1 month, including mood disturbances, fatigue and sleep disruption.

Long covid is a big umbrella term that could encompass anything from still experiencing slight shortness of breath months after the initial infection to debilitating fatigue, brain fog and exercise intolerance. That vagueness makes pinning down how much protection vaccines provide difficult, and estimates range widely. On the low end, a recent large study of veterans found that risk of exhibiting any symptom six months after infection was cut by only 15 percent by vaccination. Other studies have found higher numbers, often centering around 50 percent.

Of course, catching SARS-CoV-2 in the first place is a prerequisite for developing long covid, and getting vaccinated does reduce risk of infection.

Comments

Oh ya 3 year ago
Well they say here in this article that the side affects are the same as those shots for adults and we know was forced to release them and there are 9 pages of side affects. I think they numbered about 1260. Why would a parent do this to their child when kids have basically zero chance of dying. This is child abuse by the parents

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
×