The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that children as young as 12 are now eligible for booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine.
Booster shots were previously recommended for everyone age 16 and older, but the spread of the omicron variant affected recommendations.
Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said ‘Throughout the pandemic, as the virus that causes COVID-19 has continuously evolved, the need for the FDA to quickly adapt has meant using the best available science to make informed decisions with the health and safety of the American public in mind”.
“With the current wave of the omicron variant, it’s critical that we continue to take effective, life-saving preventative measures such as primary vaccination and boosters, mask wearing and social distancing in order to effectively fight COVID-19,” she continued.
The FDA said “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 that can occur including hospitalization and death, outweigh the potential risks in individuals 12 through 15 years of age”.
Another change was seen in the amount of time between receiving a second shot and the booster. People over the age of 12 can get Pfizer booster shots after five months instead of six.
The FDA explained that “peer-reviewed data from multiple laboratories indicate that a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine greatly improves an individual’s antibody response to be able to counter the omicron variant”.
“Authorizing booster vaccination to take place at five months rather than six months may therefore provide better protection sooner for individuals against the highly transmissible omicron variant,” it added.
The FDA also announced a recommendation for a third dose of the COVID vaccine for “certain immunocompromised children ages 5 through 11”.