Technical bulletin from state health officials provides clinical guidance.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the emergency use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 to include use in children under five years of age.
On June 18, the day after FDA authorization, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) unanimously voted to recommend the use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine two-dose primary series for children ages six months to five years and the Pfizer three-dose series for children ages six months to four years. According to disease burden data to the ACIP, children ages six months through four years are at risk of severe COVID -19 infection and more than two million cases of the illness have been identified among this population. COVID-19-associated hospitalizations among children ages six months through four years have similar severity compared to older children and adolescents and more than half of the hospitalized children ages six months through four years had no underlying conditions. The burden of COVID-19 associated death among this population is similar to or exceeds that of other pediatric vaccine-preventable diseases.
For more information, including vaccine administration guidance, see the technical bulletin on this topic posted to the Division of Public and Behavioral Health Technical Bulletins web page.
For more information, guidance and resources about the COVID-19 response in Nevada, visit https://nvhealthresponse.nv.gov/.