The United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday, January 5, 2022, said that it had expanded the vaccination drive for the booster doses of Pfizer Inc and BioNTech to children between 12 and 15 years olds.
Panel in favor of the booster doses
This decision came after a panel of experts advising the CDC voted to recommend the availability of the booster shots of the Covid-19 vaccines for ages 12 to 15.
The voting ratio of CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was 13 to 1 in favour of recommending the booster shots in front of the US health agency for the gap of five months after their second dose. The CDC, in a statement, said that it is now recommended that the adolescents aged 12 to 17 years old receive the booster shots five months after their initial Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination series.
Today, the CDC approved the Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot for kids ages 12-15. Boosters work — and offer the highest level of protection against Omicron. If your child is eligible, get them boosted today.
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 5, 2022
Updates by CDC
Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) updated about when the people can receive their booster shots by reducing the interval from 6 months to 5 months for those who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.
This implies that people who have completed their Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine series can now receive the mRNA booster shot after 5 months. The interval for the booster for the people who received the J&J vaccine is 2 months or the Moderna vaccine is 6 months. The interval for these two vaccines remains the same.
CDC also recommends that 5–11-year-olds with moderate or severely compromised immune systems receive an additional primary dose of vaccine 28 days after their second shot. The only vaccine authorized for children aged 5-11 is Pfizer-BioNTech.
CDC has expanded recommendations for #COVID19 vaccine booster shots to now include everyone ages 12 years and older. At this time, only the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is authorized and recommended for teens ages 12 to 17. Learn more: https://t.co/PBaEuuCPPm pic.twitter.com/Ah5jI4oLT8
— CDC (@CDCgov) January 6, 2022
The horrific surge in the Omicron variant cases
The Covid-19 cases in the United States have hit new record levels in the previous days due to the fast-spreading new variant Omicron. The increasing rates in the patients are surging at an alarming rate as many workers and school children return from their holiday vacations.
Today, I endorsed ACIP’s recommendation to expand #COVID19 booster eligibility to those 12-15 years old. All adolescents aged 12-17 years should now receive a COVID-19 booster shot 5 months after their primary series for optimal protection against COVID-19. https://t.co/nZUPMQ8bVZ
— Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH (@CDCDirector) January 6, 2022
This is raising the prospect of shaking up the health systems and the shutting down of businesses and schools again. “This booster dose will provide optimized protection against Covid-19 and the Omicron variant,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in her statement.
