Coverage is available for COVID-19 vaccinations for eligible children Ages 5 through 11
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is reminding eligible consumers that coverage is available without cost-sharing under Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and in the commercial market for this critical protection from the virus.
This follows the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent action authorizing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 in children 5 through 11 years of age.
As with all vaccines, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was tested thoroughly in this age group prior to its authorization for emergency use. While the effects of COVID-19 for a child can last for several months, the most commonly reported side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine in the clinical trial participants were generally mild to moderate in severity, and most went away within one to two days.