US: Booster shots of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday for people aged 16 and 17, after public health experts recommended Americans to receive the additional shots due to worries about the new Omicron variant of the virus. The emergency use authorisation (EUA) allows 16- and 17-year-olds to have their third vaccination dosage at least six months following their second dose. Before the teens can start getting the shots, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will most likely have to approve them. In the United States, around 4.7 million 16- and 17-year-olds are completely vaccinated, with more than 2.5 million having received their second shot six months ago.
Due to the increased risk of rare cases of heart inflammation in young men connected to messenger RNA vaccines like the Pfizer/BioNTech injection, several experts are concerned about further vaccinations for the age group. All adults in the United States are presently eligible for booster doses of the three Covid-19 vaccines that have been approved. The FDA’s approval comes only a day after Pfizer and BioNTech released research showing that booster doses might be crucial in preventing infection from the newly found Omicron coronavirus variant. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found less than 100 instances of Omicron in the United States, but this number is projected to rise in the next weeks and months.