The FDA authorized a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds, giving those teens access to the shots as the Omicron variant spreads worldwide
A medical staff member prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at Tudor Ranch in Mecca, Calif. | Jae C. Hong/AP PhotoThe Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds, giving those teens access to the shots as the Omicron variant spreads worldwide.
“While new variants, including Omicron, emerge across the globe, we believe that the best way to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and any future variants is getting all eligible people fully vaccinated with the first two dose series and a booster dose as recommended," Pfizer Chair and CEO Albert Bourla said in a statement.
Concerns about exposing otherwise healthy, young people to myocarditis, an inflammatory heart condition and rare side effect of the messenger RNA vaccines like Pfizer's, convinced independent advisers to the FDA and the CDC to limit their earliest booster recommendations to the oldest and sickest Americans. Teens and adults under 30, particularly males, are most at risk of developing the condition, and advisers were wary of allowing additional doses for them with scant safety data.
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