According to responses to v-safe, 48.9%, or 1,594 children, in the 5 to 11 population who got a new booster between Oct. 12, 2022, and Jan. 1, experienced one or more systemic reactions.

More than 1,600 children aged 5 to 11 experienced a systemic reaction such as fever or diarrhea after receiving one of the new COVID-19 vaccines, according to a study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Of 3,259 children in the age group who received an updated Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and were registered in the v-safe system, nearly half experienced a systemic reaction, CDC researchers found.

Systemic reactions, defined as "usually mild" and lasting for multiple days, include fatigue, chills, nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, joint pain and diarrhea. On a severity scale, the category of reactions is between local reactions and severe reactions.

According to responses to v-safe, a smartphone survey system started by the CDC during the COVID-19 pandemic to monitor vaccine safety, 48.9%, or 1,594 children, in the 5 to 11 population who got a new booster between Oct. 12, 2022, and Jan. 1, experienced one or more systemic reactions.

The most common was fatigue, followed by headache, fever, myalgia — muscle pain — and chills. The least common was rash.

Sixty-four of the children sought medical care but none were hospitalized, according to the CDC, which published the study in its quasi-journal on Jan. 13.

Most reports of needing medical care indicated that the case was not related to vaccination, according to the CDC.