Staff Report
Adolescents ages 12 through 15 could soon receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the vaccine for emergency use to include a younger age range. Teens at least 16 years old and all adults were already eligible.
"[The decision] is a significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Janet Woodcock, FDA Commissioner. “Today’s action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic."
Woodcock added that the FDA critically reviewed available data before issuing COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations (EUA).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) vaccine advisory committee will meet Wednesday, May 12, to review whether to distribute the doses to adolescents.
For more information, please visit https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine-emergency-use
