coronavirus pandemic

Pfizer to Seek Approval for COVID Booster for Teens 16 and 17

The application for regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration is expected to come this week

FILE - A healthcare worker fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Jackson Memorial Hospital on Oct. 5, 2021, in Miami. U.S. regulators have opened up COVID-19 booster shots to all and more adults, Friday, Nov. 19, letting them choose another dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File

Pfizer is expected to seek authorization this week for a COVID-19 vaccine booster for teens 16 and 17 years old, a source familiar with the process told NBC News on Monday.

If approved, the additional Pfizer-BioNTech shot would mark the first vaccine booster for teens younger than 18.

The Washington Post first reported the anticipated move.

The application for regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration is expected to come this week, but no timeline was provided for when the department would act.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention broadened its recommendation for COVID-19 booster shots to include all adults because of the new omicron variant. The agency had previously approved boosters for all adults, but only recommended them for those 50 years and older or living in long-term care settings.

For more on this story, go to NBC News.

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