CDC panel recommends Pfizer COVID-19 booster for adolescents

CDC panel recommends Pfizer COVID-19 booster for adolescents A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel on Wednesday recommended adolescents aged 12 to 15 should receive a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at least 5 Nathaniel Weixel TheHill

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel on Wednesday recommended adolescents aged 12 to 15 should receive a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at least 5 months after the primary series.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) also expanded its recent recommendations on older teens, to make it clear that teens aged 16 and 17 "should" also receive a booster dose.

Booster shots are seen as a key tool to fight the omicron variant, which has shown a heightened ability to infect people who have received two shots, though vaccinated people still have important protection against severe disease.

The 13-1 vote comes two days after the Food and Drug Administration authorized booster doses for adolescents, and is one of the final steps before pharmacists, physicians and other providers will be able to administer vaccines for children in that age group.

Once the CDC signs off, boosters will be allowed to be administered. About 5 million children would immediately be eligible for the extra doses, a CDC official told the committee Wednesday. 

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