Vaccine booster now approved for 12-to-15-year-olds, CDC announces
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that it expanded the eligibility of Pfizer and BioNTechs booster doses to those 12 to 15 years old. The move came after a panel of outside experts advising the CDC voted earlier to recommend booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine be made available for young teens.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13 to 1 to recommend that the U.S. health agency support booster shots for those aged 12 to 15 at least five months after their second dose. The panel also said the CDC should strengthen its recommendation for boosters for ages 16 and 17. The agency had previously made the shots available to those teenagers but had stopped short of suggesting that all of them should receive the additional injection.
“COVID is overwhelming our hospitals and our children’s hospitals,” said panel member Dr. Katherine Poehling, a professor at Wake Forest School of Medicine. “This is a tool we need to use and help our children through this pandemic.”
“This booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the omicron variant,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in the statement.