CDC recommends Pfizer booster for kids 12 and up

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday recommended that youths age 12 to 17 receive the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine booster.
"It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said. "I encourage all parents to keep their children up to date with CDC's COVID-19 vaccine recommendations." There are 16.7 million adolescents in the United States, and about half are fully vaccinated, The Washington Post reports.
The highly contagious Omicron variant is fueling a surge in COVID-19 cases across the U.S., and the country's seven-day case average hit 580,000 on Wednesday. Walensky said that data shows boosters "help broaden and strengthen protection against Omicron and other variants" in both children and adults. The number of children hospitalized with COVID-19, while still relatively low, is now higher than the previous record set last summer during the Delta surge, the Post reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Magazine solutions - February 28, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - February 28, 2025
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - February 28, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - February 28, 2025
By The Week US Published
-
Lather up with these 8 eco-friendly shampoo bars
The Week Recommends Help your hair and the planet
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Microplastics accumulating in human brains, study finds
Speed Read The amount of tiny plastic particles found in human brains increased dramatically from 2016 to 2024
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
FDA approves painkiller said to thwart addiction
Speed Read Suzetrigine, being sold as Journavx, is the first new pharmaceutical pain treatment approved by the FDA in 20 years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Study finds possible alternative abortion pill
Speed Read An emergency contraception (morning-after) pill called Ella could be an alternative to mifepristone for abortions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How close are we to a norovirus vaccine?
Today's Big Question A new Moderna trial raises hopes of vanquishing a stomach bug that sickens millions a year
By David Faris Published
-
HMPV is spreading in China but there's no need to worry
The Explainer Respiratory illness is common in winter
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Marty Makary: the medical contrarian who will lead the FDA
In the Spotlight What Johns Hopkins surgeon and commentator Marty Makary will bring to the FDA
By David Faris Published