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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has endorsed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendations to expand eligibility of Pfizer’s COVID-19 booster doses to kids 12 to 15 years old.
CDC now recommends that adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old should receive a booster shot five months after their initial Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination series.
Additionally, consistent with prior recommendations for adults, CDC is recommending that moderately or severely immunocompromised 5–11-year-olds receive an additional primary dose of vaccine 28 days after their second shot.
At this time, only the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is authorized and recommended for children aged 12-17.
Data show that COVID-19 boosters help broaden and strengthen protection against Omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants. ACIP reviewed the available safety data following the administration of over 25 million vaccine doses in adolescents; COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.
“It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease. Today, I endorsed ACIP’s vote to expand eligibility and strengthen our recommendations for booster doses,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.
“We now recommend that all adolescents aged 12-17 years should receive a booster shot five months after their primary series. This booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. I encourage all parents to keep their children up to date with CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.”
