CDC recommends Pfizer's COVID-19 booster for ages 12 to 15
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[January 06, 2022]
By Michael Erman
(Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it expanded the
eligibility of Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE's booster doses to those 12 to
15 years old.
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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Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
pediatric vaccine are pictured in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, U.S.,
December 5, 2021. REUTERS/Hannah Beier
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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