COVID booster shots now available across Los Angeles County for children 5-11

With cases going up, and summer activities right around the corner, public health officials are urging parents to get their children boosted against COVID -19.

Children ages 5 to 11 are now eligible for COVID booster shots. Los Angeles County started administering boosters over the weekend, and the City of Long Beach started offering them Monday.

"The children who got boosted were so much less likely to even get infected," Los Angeles County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said. "And you know if you don't get infected, two things — you can't pass it on to anybody else and you can't get sick. So it's super important that we try to protect ourselves as much as we can."

Boosters were cleared for distribution by the CDC after the FDA issued an emergency use authorization last week, as new cases and hospitalizations have surged across the country. Los Angeles County moved into the CDC's "medium" community virus activity category after being in "low" for several weeks, and a county mask mandate for public transportation was extended for another 30 days or until virus transmission falls.

The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus went up to 3.7%, up from 3.5% a day earlier, in Los Angeles County. Last week, Ferrer said the rate of hospital beds occupied by COVID-positive patients is roughly 1.7%.

State public health officials say the surge in infections fueled by Omicron and its subvariants showed that children are also vulnerable to the current wave of the virus. Children 5-11 should receive a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at least five months after completing their primary series, officials said.

To make an appointment for a child, parents can visit myturn.ca.gov or call 1-833-422-4255.