DeKALB — The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that it would adopt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation for children ages 5 through 11 years to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

The Pfizer vaccine was previously only authorized for use in individuals aged 12 years and older. Children ages 5 through 11 years receive a smaller dose of 10 micrograms, a third of the 30 microgram dose that those 12 years and older receive. The Pfizer vaccine is administered as a series of two doses, with three weeks in between, for all individuals who are eligible to receive it.

“I encourage parents who may have questions about COVID-19 vaccines for their children to talk with a pediatrician or family doctor,” IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in Wednesday’s press release. “We need as many people as possible, including children, to be vaccinated to stop the spread of the virus and end this pandemic.”

The Pfizer vaccine was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in children ages 5 through 11 years during clinical trials. Side effects commonly reported in children ranged from mild to moderate, such as injection site pain, redness and swelling, and muscle and/or joint pain. Any side effects occurred within two days of vaccination and subsided with a day or two.

Pfizer Inc. will continue to monitor the safety of the vaccine and will report events such as serious adverse events, cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, cases that result in hospitalization or death, and vaccine administration errors. These events will be reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System and providers.

The Modern and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines remain authorized for use in individuals 18 years and older and will continue to be available.