FDA Expands Pfizer COVID Booster, Opens Extra Dose To Age 16 And Up

The Pfizer vaccine is the only option in the U.S. for anyone younger than 18, either for initial vaccination or a booster.

The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters, ruling that 16- and 17-year-olds can get a third dose of Pfizer's vaccine.

The U.S. and many other nations already were urging adults to get booster shots to pump up immunity that can wane months after vaccination, calls that intensified with the discovery of the worrisome new Omicron variant.

On Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration gave emergency authorization for 16- and 17-year-olds to get a third dose of the vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech — if it's been six months since their last shot.