FDA authorizes COVID boosters for kids ages 12 to 15 – CNET [CNET]

The US Food and Drug Administration authorized on Monday a booster shot of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 15. The agency also authorized a Pfizer booster for some immunocompromised children ages 5 to 11, including those who’ve had an organ transplant or have a condition that keeps them from responding to two doses of the vaccine. 

The FDA also shortened the time that all people need to wait between getting a second dose of Pfizer and a booster shot to five months instead of the currently recommended six months. This change applies only to Pfizer’s vaccine, but the FDA said in a news release that it will continue to review data on all COVID-19 vaccines and “provide additional updates as appropriate.”

Pfizer’s vaccine is the only one available to children and teens under 18. Moderna’s and Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine are authorized only for adults. 

A committee that advises the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will soon meet to review the FDA’s new authorization for boosters, The New York Times reported. If the advisory committee also approves the changes, the final decision will be up to the CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

In the news release, the FDA said it reviewed real-world data from Israel in more than 6,300 children ages 12 to 15 who received a booster at least five months after their second dose of Pfizer. No new safety concerns or new reports of myocarditis were reported to date in those individuals, the FDA said. 

The FDA’s expansion of who can get a booster comes as both the omicron and delta variants spike COVID-19 cases in the US. Because of omicron’s increased transmissibility and ability to get around standard doses of vaccines, health officials have been strengthening their call for booster doses for maximum protection.