US CDC to take call on authorising booster shots for 12-15-year-olds in 'weeks ahead'

As the COVID-19 cases continue to witness a rise in the United States, the head of the Control Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) informed that COVID-19 booster shots for children aged between 12-15 years could be approved in the coming days or weeks. Speaking on CNN’s New Day, Dr Rochelle Walensky, the CDC director, said that the FDA administration is trying to find whether it is safe to give a third dose to the age group. She further revealed that they were waiting for their nod in order to start giving the booster dose to the children aged between 12-15 years. 

Presently, no vaccine has been approved for vaccinating kids below the age of 5. Dr Walensky noted that vaccine manufacturers have been involved in data for children aged below 5 years, however, she insisted that vaccines for children below the age of 5 will take more time, as per the CNN report. The CDC head urged the parents to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19. She added that they were making efforts to get there “soon.”

Earlier this month, the US CDC recommended children aged 16-17 years to receive their booster dose against COVID-19. It is to mention here that Pfizer-BioNTech is the only vaccine manufacturer which has received the approval of CDC for vaccinating kids aged between 12-15 years. According to CDC, children aged 12 years and older receive the same dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as adults while the children aged between 5 to 11 years receive an age-appropriate dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against coronavirus.

Pfizer to test third dose of vaccine for kids under 5 years of age

Pfizer and BioNTech on December 17, shared that they are following a "routine review" to assess the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the COVID-19 vaccine in children aged between 6 months to under 5 years. The pharmaceutical company has decided to test the third dose of 3 µg at least two months after the second dose of the two-dose series to provide high levels of protection in this young age group, Pfizer said in a statement. The company in the statement revealed that if the study is successful, the company is expected to submit data in the first half of 2022 to regulators for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for children 6 months to under 5 years of age.

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