FDA expands Pfizer COVID booster, opens extra dose to age 16

FDA expands Pfizer COVID booster, opens extra dose to age 16

Ariel Quero, 16, left, a student at Lehman High School, reacts after getting the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from Katrina Taormina, right, July 27, 2021, in New York. The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters, ruling that 16- and 17-year-olds can get a third dose of Pfizer’s vaccine. The U.S. and many other nations already were urging adults to get booster shots to pump up immunity that can wane months after vaccination, calls that intensified with the discovery of the worrisome new omicron variant. On Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021 the FDA gave emergency authorization for 16- and 17-year-olds to get a third dose of the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech -- if it’s been six months since their last shot. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)

The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters, opening a third dose of Pfizer’s vaccine to people as young as age 16. The U.S. and many other nations already urge adults to get a booster to pump up their immunity months after initial vaccination. In the U.S., the Pfizer vaccine is the only option for children and teenagers. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday cleared an extra dose for those ages 16 and 17, but there’s one more step. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must recommend they get a booster. It’s not clear if younger teens will need one.

Photo: Ariel Quero, 16, left, a student at Lehman High School, reacts after getting the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from Katrina Taormina, right, July 27, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)