Updated Recommendations for the Use of Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines for Children Down to 6 Months of Age

December 13, 2022

Last week, the FDA authorized the use of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines for children down to six months of age; the CDC then expanded its recommendations for the use of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines to include this age group.

Additional Recommendations:

The CDC’s Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Approved or Authorized in the United States provides an up-to-date resource on the use of COVID-19 vaccines across the age spectrum including these new recommendations.


Children 6 months through 5 years of age who received the original (monovalent) Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine are now eligible to receive a single booster dose of the bivalent Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine two months after completing a primary series with the monovalent Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine.


Children 6 months through 4 years of age who have not yet begun their three-dose primary series of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or have not yet received the third dose of their primary series will now receive the updated (bivalent) Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as the third dose in their primary series following two doses of the original (monovalent) Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.


Children 6 months through 4 years of age who have already completed their three-dose primary series with the original (monovalent) Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine will not be eligible for a booster dose of an updated bivalent vaccine at this time.


To help visualize the current COVID-19 vaccination schedule see the graphics linked below:


Contact Information:
For questions or concerns, please contact the Communicable Disease Control Division at 714-834-8180.
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