On June 21, 2022, the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health sent Health Advisory #199 to health care providers, hospitals and other health care facilities. It reported that on June 18, 2022, the CDC endorsed the recommendation of its vaccine advisory committee that children 6 months through 5 years old get a COVID-19 vaccine.
The advisory said the virus had caused more than 2 million COVID-19 cases in this age group in the United States. It said very young children were at risk of severe illness, and that more than half of hospitalized children 6 months through 4 years old had no underlying health conditions. The Bureau recommended COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 6 months and older.
The two vaccines
- Pfizer-BioNTech, ages 6 months through 4 years: a primary series of three doses. The first two doses were given 3 to 8 weeks apart. The third dose came at least 8 weeks after the second.
- Moderna, ages 6 months through 5 years: a primary series of two doses, given 4 to 8 weeks apart. Children who were moderately to severely immunocompromised could get a third primary dose at least 4 weeks after the second.
- A booster was not authorized for either age group at that time.
The advisory noted that an 8-week gap between the first two doses could be best for some people. The shorter gap stayed the advice for people who were moderately or severely immunocompromised, adults 65 and older, and times of high community spread. Providers were told to read the emergency use authorization fact sheets and give the caregiver fact sheet to parents.
Around the same time, the county health department placed its first order of vaccines for young children. See the first order of COVID-19 vaccines for young children and Health Advisory #200.
This information is from June 2022. It is kept here as a record and is not current advice. Check current guidance from the CDC or your doctor.