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US FDA Authorizes Pfizer Vaccine Boosters For Children Ages 12-15

  • Distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, U.S., 2022.

    Distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, U.S., 2022. | Photo: Twitter/ @PresshubU

Published 3 January 2022
Opinion

The FDA also shortened the time for booster shots from at least six months after completion of the initial series to at least five months, for everyone aged 12 and older.

On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine boosters to children ages 12 to 15.

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The FDA also shortened the time for booster shots from at least six months after completion of the initial series to at least five months, for everyone aged 12 and older.

The agency has determined that the protective health benefits of a single booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to provide continued protection against COVID-19 and the associated serious consequences outweigh the potential risks in individuals ages 12 to 15.

The agency said that it found "no new safety concerns" following a booster shot in young teenagers, and that there were no new reports of two types of heart inflammation called myocarditis or pericarditis linked to the boosters.

The decision came as the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly across the United States and has led to record high hospitalizations among younger people.

So far, over 7.5 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 in the United States, representing 1 in 10 children nationwide, according to the latest report of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.

Last week, White House adviser Anthony Fauci said that the surge in the COVID-19 Omicron variant in the United States would likely peak by the end of January. The U.S. recorded more than 54.7 million COVID-19 cases with over 825,000 related deaths as of January 1, according to the real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

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