evidence: Even now, there are still a lot of children and teens being hospitalized with COVID. Most did not have an underlying medical condition. There is no way to predict which children will be severely affected by COVID. Getting the updated COVID vaccine is the safest and most dependable way to build immunity and avoid serious illness. [...] Children age 5 through 11 years are up to date when they get: [...] Children who recently had COVID can consider delaying a COVID vaccine by up to 3 months. This is because there is a lower risk of getting sick with COVID again during that time.