FDA approves booster shots for 12 to 15-year-olds; shortens time between boosters

(New York, NY) -- The FDA is expanding eligibility for Pfizer's booster shots for use in 12 to 15-year-olds.  

Teens 16 and up are already eligible to get a Pfizer booster, along with adults. It comes as the nation battles the Omicron variant. It's resulting in more kids needing to be hospitalized.

Also on Monday, the FDA announced it is shortening the time needed between getting two doses of a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine and an additional booster shot. The agency says individuals are now able to get their booster dose if they're at least five months removed from their second shot. The original timeframe was six months.  

The FDA cited data from Israel involving those who got their booster dose five months after their initial vaccines. It said "no new safety concerns have emerged" from the more than four-million people in Israel who got a booster shot at least five months later.