Booster shots are coming for young teenagers
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The FDA is reportedly on the verge of approving booster shots of the Pfizer COVID vaccine for those aged 12 to 15. The plan would be to allow them to get their third shots after five months of waiting, as opposed to six.
Kim Pullen now knows what her daughter will be doing the moment she turns 12.
"I cannot wait for the day," she stated.
The Valrico student already has two Pfizer shots, but with omicron's ability to get around them, a third would make them both more comfortable when she goes off to school.
"It is 100 percent nerve-wracking, especially with the amount of cases we have had in the last week," she said.
The CDC says boosters are three times as effective at preventing infection as having just two shots, and five times as effective at preventing death.
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A completely unvaccinated person is 60 times as likely to die as a boosted person.
"Dramatically, what we have seen is that kids who get admitted are those who are unvaccinated," explained Dr. Joseph Perno of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.
Right now, there are four children hospitalized at Johns Hopkins All Children’s in St Pete.
Fifty-three percent of those 12 to 17 have gotten two shots.
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"We are not at the numbers of pediatric population that we want to be at as far as the number of children we want vaccinated," said Perno.
With school starting back up next week, right in the middle of a wave of omicron, Pullen wishes her daughter was turning 12 much sooner than late next year.
"I am blessed my daughter understands the necessity to protect herself and her sister, and the rest of the family, so she is willing able and happy to wear a mask."
The FDA also appears ready to allow boosters for those who are 5-11 but who are immunocompromised.
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