On January 3, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children between 12 and 15 years old.
At the same time, it reduced the time of all booster immunizations to 5 months from 6 months after the end of the initial vaccination program and authorized a third dose in children aged 5 to 11 years who are immunocompromised.
The FDA made the decision after reviewing published data and real-world evidence on the safety of booster doses provided by the Israeli Ministry of Health, including data from more than 6,300 people ages 12 to 15 who received a Pfizer vaccine.
Laboratory tests showed that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines generate a low immune response against Omicron, while booster doses appear to be protective against the new variant.
