US health authorities on Monday approved Pfizer’s Covid-19 booster shot for children as young as 12, and reduced the wait time between initial vaccination and an extra dose from six months to five, for all ages.
The decision by the Food and Drug Administration comes as the pandemic, driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, flares up and as schoolchildren return by the millions to class following the holiday break.
The FDA also approved a booster dose of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for immunocompromised children between the ages of five and 11, including for example individuals who have received an organ transplant.
The agency said it relied in particular on data from Israel, where thousands of children age 12 to 15 have already received the booster dose. more...
