FDA expands eligibility for Pfizer-BioNTech booster 16- and 17-year-olds now eligible

 

ROME, GA: The FDA has expanded eligibility for the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 booster dose to 16- and 17-year-olds, and health departments in Northwest Georgia have expanded their Covid-19 booster offering to include this age group for this particular vaccine.

“Everyone ages 16 and older can get a booster shot,” says Dr. Gary Voccio, health director for the ten-county Georgia Department of Public Health Northwest Health District. Teens 16 to 17 years old can get a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster, and adults 18 years and older can get any of the COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States.”

“Most recent evidence indicates that vaccine effectiveness against Covid-19 is waning after the second dose of the vaccine for all adults and for those in the 16- and 17-year-old age group,” Voccio says.  “A booster will help provide continued protection against Covid-19 in this and older age groups.”

 

“Although we are still learning more about the Omicron variant,” Voccio adds, “initial data suggests that Covid-19 boosters help broaden and strengthen the protection against Omicron and other variants.”

 

For convenience, people are encouraged to call their local county health department to schedule appointments for initial Covid vaccine doses and boosters.  For contact information for all Northwest Georgia health departments, visit nwgapublichealth.org/counties.

 

For complete information about Covid-19 boosters, visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html.