Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake’s Statement on CDC’s Updated COVID-19 Booster Dose Recommendations and Expansion to Children Ages 5 -11

“The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is pleased to see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendation that children ages 5-11 years-old should receive a booster dose five months after their initial Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine series. This follows the authorization of a booster dose for this age group by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In addition, the CDC strengthened its recommendation that people 50 and older and those 12 and older who are immunocompromised should get a second booster dose. 

To parents and guardians awaiting this news: once CDC releases updated clinical guidance, we will review the recommendation as quickly as possible and update our vaccination guidance accordingly. Providers will then have the information they need to vaccinate children for this new recommendation and parents can make plans for their children to receive the booster.  

If your child is 5 or older and is not one of the nearly 122,000 Wisconsin children who have started and completed their initial two-dose series, it is not too late. Getting your child vaccinated can help protect them from the potentially severe consequences of COVID-19 and help prevent them from spreading illness to others.   

To all Wisconsinites: as more Wisconsin counties move into high COVID-19 Community Levels, we urge everyone eligible for COVID-19 vaccines to ensure that they have received all recommended vaccinations, including booster and additional doses. When more people in Wisconsin are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines, more people are protected against severe health outcomes associated with COVID-19. This reduces strain on hospitals, slows the spread of disease, and saves lives.”  

Anyone in Wisconsin can get vaccinated at no cost – even if they do not have insurance or their insurance does not cover COVID-19 vaccination. To find a COVID-19 vaccine provider in your community, visit Vaccines.gov, or dial 211.