Everyone who is at least 12 years old and is already fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should get a booster dose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This Wednesday, the CDC announced a new recommendation for booster shots, expanding it previous recommendation to include children as young as 12 years old. A day before, the centers also altered their recommendation for how long people should wait before getting Pfizer BioNTech booster shots from six months to five.
According to the CDC, the new age-related recommendation is based on an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendation.
“It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease,” said CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky. “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.”
Since the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is the only one approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for children and teens from age 12 to 17, they can receive booster shots five months after their initial vaccination series. Pfizer mRNA vaccines – which require two doses administered weeks apart – for people 12 to 15 years old were first approved by the FDA in May.
“Data show that COVID-19 boosters help broaden and strengthen protection against Omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants” said the CDC. “ACIP reviewed the available safety data following the administration of over 25 million vaccine doses in adolescents; COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.”
Other vaccines approved for adults in the U.S. are the Moderna two-shot mRNA vaccine and the single-shot viral vector Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Boosters for all three approved COVID-19 vaccines are available to adults. Those who received the Moderna vaccine should wait six months before getting a booster dose and those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should wait two months.
While the CDC does not currently recommend booster shots for all 5 to 11-year-olds, it does recommend moderately or severely immunocompromised children in that age bracket receive an additional primary dose of the vaccine 28 days after their second shot.
Pfizer-BioNTech also produces the only COVID-19 vaccine that is authorized and recommended for children aged 5-11. This lower-dose version of their other vaccine was approved by the FDA for emergency use in October.
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