According to child vaccine data released by Moderna Monday, a lower dose of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective in kids aged 6-11. Preliminary results showed vaccinated children developed virus-fighting antibodies similar to levels that young adults produce after full-strength shots.

“We are encouraged by the immunogenicity and safety profile of mRNA-1273 in children aged 6 to under 12 years and are pleased that the study met its primary immunogenicity endpoints,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a news release. “We look forward to filing with regulators globally and remain committed to doing our part to help end the COVID-19 pandemic with a vaccine for adults and children of all ages.”

The child vaccine data came from a Moderna study that involved 4,753 children who got two doses of either the vaccine or dummy shots a month apart. Vaccinated youngsters had temporary side effects similar to adults, including fatigue, headache, fever and injection site pain.

Currently, the Moderna vaccine is only approved for adults. No vaccine has been approved for kids 6-11. However, the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) is currently looking at whether or not to approve the Pfizer vaccine for kids 5-11 years old. Kids in that age group could get the vaccine by early November. The Pfizer vaccine is currently approved for kids 12 and up.

As the vaccine companies look to vaccinate younger Americans, children as young as 3 are set to get the vaccine in parts of China. City and provincial level governments in at least five Chinese provinces issued notices in recent days saying children ages 3 to 11 will have to get vaccinated.

The expansion of the vaccination campaign comes as parts of China take new clampdown measures to try to stamp out small outbreaks. The National Health Commission reported 35 new cases of local transmission were detected Monday. A province heavily dependent on tourism closed all tourist sites Monday after finding new cases.

Only a few countries in the world have begun vaccinating children as young as 3. Another is Cuba, which began a vaccine drive for children as young as 2.

In a sweeping action responding to debate and speculation over the last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved COVID-19 boosters from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson Wednesday. The FDA also approved the use of a vaccine brand different from the one Americans received from their first dose(s).

“Today’s actions demonstrate our commitment to public health in proactively fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic,” acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a press release. “The available data suggest waning immunity in some populations who are fully vaccinated. The availability of these authorized boosters is important for continued protection against COVID-19 disease.”

Here’s what the amended emergency use authorizations now cover, according to the release:

• The use of a single booster dose of the Moderna vaccine at least 6 months after initial vaccination for people:
  • 65 years of age and older
  • 18 through 64 years of age at high risk of severe COVID-19
  • 18 through 64 years of age with frequent risk of institutional or occupational exposure
• The use of a single booster dose of the J&J vaccine at least 2 months after initial vaccination for all adults
• The use of each of the available vaccine booster dose in eligible individuals, regardless of what vaccine they initially got

“We will work to accrue additional data as quickly as possible to further assess the benefits and risks of the use of booster doses in additional populations and plan to update the healthcare community and public with our determination in the coming weeks,” FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Peter Marks said.

Last week, an advisory panel to the FDA unanimously approved both the Moderna and J&J boosters. Reports of the FDA’s approval of mix-and-match boosters came out earlier this week.

The FDA isn’t the only regulating body to rule on boosters. An influential panel convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to meet Thursday to offer more specifics on who should get boosters and when. Their recommendations are subject to approval by the CDC director.

According to an American health official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to allow the mixing and matching of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses later this week. The AP said the official was familiar with the matter.

According to them, the FDA is expected to say it still prefers people receive the same brand for a booster shot that they received for their initial vaccination. This is especially the case for the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. The agency is still finalizing guidance for the single-shot J&J vaccine.

Preliminary results from a government study on mixing and matching booster doses found an extra dose of any of the vaccines increase antibodies regardless of the brand people first received. One thing the FDA must sort out is what to do with the Moderna booster. The company applied for its booster to be half the original dose, saying that’s plenty for people who already received two full-strength shots. However, the study on mixing and matching booster doses used full-strength extra doses. This means there’s no way to know if a half-dose Moderna booster would trigger as strong a reaction in Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson recipients.

More vaccine requirements went into effect Monday. Those mandates affect state workers in Oregon and city workers in Seattle.

In Oregon, the deadline for about 5,000 employees was Monday and Tuesday. The deadline was originally for 43,000 executive branch employees. However, after union negotiations, the deadline for most was moved to Nov. 30.

On Monday night, a federal judge denied a last-minute bid by more than three dozen state employees, health care providers and school staff to temporarily stop the mandate.

“In the middle of a global pandemic while infections and hospitalizations continue at high rates, Plaintiffs are not likely to succeed in showing that their individual interests in remaining unvaccinated outweigh the State’s interest in public health and welfare,” the judge wrote in a 55-page opinion.

Meanwhile in Seattle, all city employees had to be vaccinated by 12:01. a.m. Tuesday. According to a Seattle Times report, 94 percent of the city’s 11,000 employees had been vaccinated as of Monday morning. 5 percent had filed paperwork for an exemption, and only about 1 percent had not yet complied.