Advisory committee recommends CDC add COVID shot to free children's vaccine program

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday voted to recommend that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) add vaccinations against COVID-19 to a program that provides free inoculations to children.

The unanimous vote would allow the Vaccines for Children Program to distribute the COVID vaccines to children, in line with CDC guidelines, according to Reuters. The ACIP decision was not a vote to add the shots to the CDC's annual vaccination schedule, the outlet reported. The CDC schedule outlines the ages at which age children ought to receive specific vaccines.

The CDC currently recommends that children older than 6 months be vaccinated and that children over 5 years old receive booster shots.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently authorized the use of a Moderna booster shot to combat the Omicron variant for use on children as young as five years old.