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 The move came after a panel of outside experts advising the CDC
voted earlier to recommend booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine be
made available for ages 12 to 15.
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted
13 to 1 to recommend that the U.S. health agency support booster
shots for those aged 12 to 15 at least five months after their
second dose.
The panel also said the CDC should strengthen its recommendation for
boosters for ages 16 and 17. The agency had previously made the
shots available to those teenagers, but had stopped short of
suggesting that all of them should receive the additional jab.
The CDC said in a statement it now recommended that adolescents age
12 to 17 years old should receive a booster shot 5 months after
their initial Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination series.
COVID-19 cases in the United States have hit record levels in recent
days due to the fast spreading Omicron variant of the virus.
Infection rates are surging as many workers and school children
return from holiday vacations, raising the prospect of overwhelmed
health systems as well as closed businesses and schools.
"COVID is overwhelming our hospitals and our children's hospitals,"
said panel member Dr. Katherine Poehling, a professor at Wake Forest
School of Medicine. "This is a tool we need to use, and help our
children through this pandemic."
Data from Israel's Health Ministry presented at the meeting
suggested that vaccinated children aged 12 to 15 who were five to
six months past their second dose were being infected at the same
rate as unvaccinated kids by the Omicron variant of the virus. After
receiving a booster shot, the infection rate dropped sharply,
according to the data.
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 Dr. Peter Marks, a top
regulator at the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, said that it is reasonable to
extend the boosters down to 12- to 15-year-olds
given the current surge in cases.
The FDA had authorized the additional doses U.S. FDA authorizes
Pfizer's COVID-19 booster for 12- to 15-year-olds for the age group
on Monday, but the CDC sign-off was needed before the shots can be
administered.
"This booster dose will provide optimized protection against
COVID-19 and the Omicron variant," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky
said in the statement.
Some scientists have expressed concerns about the booster shots due
to rare cases of heart inflammation called myocarditis that have
been linked to both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines,
particularly in young men.
While there is limited data on myocarditis after booster doses for
ages 12 to 15, the FDA has said evidence from both the United States
and Israel indicates that the risk of myocarditis in men aged 18-40
is significantly lower after booster shots than after the second
vaccine dose.
Only two cases of myocarditis were reported in Israel among 44,000
adolescents aged 12 to 15 who received a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech
vaccine, the Israeli Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Michael Erman, Additional reporting by Manonjna
Maddipatla and Jahnavi Nidumolu in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill
Berkrot and Richard Pullin)
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