Posted on 01/05/22
| News Source: Associated Press
Influential government advisers are strongly urging that teens as young as 12 get COVID-19 boosters as soon as they’re eligible, a key move as the U.S. battles the omicron surge and schools struggle with how to restart classes amid the spike.
All Americans 16 and older are encouraged to get a booster, which health authorities say offer the best chance at avoiding the highly contagious omicron variant. Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized an extra Pfizer shot for kids ages 12 to 15 as well -- but that wasn’t the final hurdle.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes recommendations for vaccinations and on Wednesday, its advisers voted that a booster was safe for the younger teens and should be offered to them once enough time — five months — has passed since their last shot. And while the CDC last month opened boosters as an option for 16- and 17-year-olds, the panel said that recommendation should be strengthened to say they “should” get the extra dose.
The CDC’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, will weigh the panel’s advice before making a final decision soon.
Vaccines still offer strong protection against serious illness from any type of COVID-19, including the highly contagious omicron variant, especially after a booster. But omicron can slip past a layer of the vaccines’ protection to cause breakthrough infections.
Studies show a booster dose at least temporarily revs up virus-fighting antibodies to levels that offer the best chance at avoiding symptomatic infection, even from omicron.
Fending off even a mild infection is harder for vaccines to do than protecting against serious illness so giving teens a booster for that temporary jump in protection is like playing whack-a-mole, cautioned Dr. Sarah Long of Drexel University. But she said the extra shots was worth it given how hugely contagious the omicron mutant is, and how many kids are catching it.
More important, if a child with a mild infection spread it to a more vulnerable parent or grandparent who then dies, the impact “is absolutely crushing,” said Dr. Camille Kotton of Massachusetts General Hospital.