The Food and Drug Administration on Monday cleared the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 booster dose for children ages 12 to 15.
The decreased time period to wait for a booster only applies to those who had the Pfizer shots. Those who received the Moderna shots should still wait six months before getting the booster, the FDA said, citing a lack of data from Moderna to change the recommended time period.Boosters for Johnson & Johnson are given after two months.
The director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Dr. Peter Marks, predicted it will take"weeks to months" for the agency to sort through data on mixing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine with third doses of one of the mRNA vaccines. "Those data are becoming available from those who receive complex combinations in Europe and elsewhere," Marks said."As we get those data, we'll analyze them and then potentially make recommendations."
The change in timing for Pfizer's booster comes from studies of more than 6,300 teens ages 12 to 15 in Israel. That research suggested that a Pfizer booster dose may protect them from the omicron variant better when given at five months, rather than six. "With the current wave of the omicron variant, it's critical that we continue to take effective, life-saving preventative measures such as primary vaccination and boosters, mask wearing and social distancing in order to effectively fight Covid-19," acting FDA Commissioner Dr.
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