Teens Aged 16 and 17 Can Now Get Booster Shots Against COVID-19
The FDA and CDC yesterday announced that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine can now be used as a booster for 16-17 year olds. Until now, boosters have only been allowed for children 18 years of age or older.
As you may recall, Pfizer was the first COVID vaccine to be licensed – and now fully approved – for people ages 16 and older (and is now licensed for emergency use for children ages 5 to 15). Other COVID vaccines are for people 18 and older. But the rules and guidelines for boosters have not yet extended to adolescents aged 16-17.
The CDC guidelines now state that everyone 18 and over should receive the booster, while 16-17 year olds can receive the booster. (The wording around boosters gets stronger every time the recommendations change. At first, people over 65 were “should”, and most others were “okay.”)
Options for teens are slightly different from options for adults, as Pfizer is the only COVID vaccine approved for people under 18:
- If you are over 18 years of age and were originally given Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, you can get any vaccine as a booster.
- If you are 16 or 17 years old, you originally bought Pfizer and your only continuing education option is Pfizer.
- Revaccination is still not recommended for people under the age of 16. Don’t be surprised if this changes over time.
If you (or your child) received the Pfizer vaccine when you were 17 and are now 18, you do not need to use Pfizer for the booster shot. Recommendations are based on your current age, and 18-year-olds who originally purchased Pfizer can get their own booster pack of any flavor. As with adults, the timeline for boosters is six months (or more) after the end of the main streak.
With new information suggesting that boosters may help our immune system protect against Omicron in addition to previous options, now is the perfect time to get a booster if you must, and consider getting a flu shot while you are doing it.