WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC) – An advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Thursday in favor of adding the COVID vaccine to the recommended immunization schedule for children and adults.
Children six months and older, as well as adults, are encouraged to get the COVID vaccine, plus boosters, when they are eligible for it, according to the advisory committee.
The schedule is meant to help guide doctors in determining when to administer vaccinations, particularly for children. This includes vaccinations for polio, measles, whooping cough and tetanus.
However, the recommended immunization schedule is not a vaccine mandate. States and local jurisdictions make their own rules about which vaccines are required for school attendance.
The decision to officially add COVID vaccination to the schedule now goes to the CDC.
The agency is expected to sign off on the recommendation, but it is not required to do so.
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