CDC RECOMMENDS PFIZER RECIPIENTS GET BOOSTER AFTER 5 MONTHS

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended on Tuesday that Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine recipients get a booster dose five months after their second shot instead of the previously approved six months.

The agency endorsed the shorter period after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the reduced timeline on Monday for those who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The CDC also suggested moderately and severely immunocompromised 5- to 11-year-olds get an additional dose about a month after their second shot, aligning their recommendations for the age group with immunocompromised adults.

The CDC’s advisory panel is slated to meet Wednesday to discuss whether to recommend boosters for 12- to 15-year-olds after the FDA expanded access to the extra doses among young teens.

For other vaccines: The CDC still suggests that Johnson & Johnson and Moderna recipients receive their boosters two months and six months, respectively, after completing the primary series.