CDC recommends Pfizer boosters for 12- to 15-year-olds; 1st shots as early as Thursday
ABC News
The first booster shots for 12- to 15-year-olds could go into arms as soon as Thursday morning.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Pfizer boosters for adolescents ages 12 to 15 on Wednesday night, paving the way for the first shots to go into arms Thursday morning.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer boosters on Monday, paving the way for CDC's final green light, and a CDC panel of experts voted to recommend them after reviewing data on Wednesday. The final signoff from CDC Director Rochelle Walensky came a few hours later.
Because the CDC doesn't require vaccinated and boosted people to quarantine after exposure, the availability of booster shots to 12- to 15-year-olds could have a big impact on keeping kids in school during the winter surge.
Boosters for young adolescents may "reduce the potential for a child to be positive or to be infected," said Dr. Amanda Cohn, senior adviser for vaccines at CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and could have "an immeasurable impact on the well being of these kids."
