Washington Post: “As President Biden exhorts Americans to get coronavirus vaccines and booster shots to beef up protections against the delta and omicron variants, another age group might soon become eligible for extra doses: 16- and 17-year-olds. Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are expected to ask the Food and Drug Administration in the coming days to authorize its booster shot for that age group, according to two people familiar with the situation. The regulators are expected to sign off quickly, said the individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue.
“Currently, Americans who are 18 and older are eligible for boosters six months after receiving the second shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. They can receive the Johnson & Johnson booster two months after getting the single-shot vaccine. The move to expand eligibility among adolescents comes as the White House is grappling with a new, highly mutated variant, called omicron, that has captured the world’s attention. With information on the variant scant and anxieties high, Biden urged Americans on Monday to get fully vaccinated and receive booster doses, calling the shots ‘the best protection against this new variant or any of the variants out there.'”