Children ages 5 to 11 are now eligible for a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Washington Department of Health.

The Washington Department of Health made the decision to expand eligibility for booster doses to everyone above the age of 5 after the Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention made recommendations.

“The CDC’s announcement is welcome news as we continue to do everything we can to keep Washingtonians of all ages safe,” said Umair A. Shah, Washington’s Secretary of Health. “This pandemic is not over and we must continue to use the tools at our disposal.”

Department of Health recommends children ages 5 to 11 who are not immunocompromised get a booster shot five months after they received their first shots. Children who are immunocompromised should get the booster three months after they received their first shots.

This comes as COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations in King County are on the rise. In King County, each day on average, over 1,000 people get COVID-19, 15 are hospitalized and two die, according to the county’s COVID-19 dashboard.

In the last 30 days, 10% of COVID-19 cases in King County have been among children ages 0–9, and 13% have been among people ages 10-19, according to the dashboard.