The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recommended extending booster eligibility to 16- and 17-year-olds. Pfizer’s vaccine and booster are the only ones currently available to anyone under the age of 18. The CDC strongly encourages all 16- and 17-year-olds to get the booster dose if they are at least six months past their second dose, and says this will help bolster protection against coronavirus variants. A pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital in Dartmouth-Hitchcock told WMUR that he is excited about the prospect of young people being able to get the booster. “From their second injection, and so by getting a third injection, that efficacy really comes back,” said Dr. . Erik Shessler, CHaD pediatrician. Shessler also addressed parental concerns about a rare side effect of the vaccine in younger people called myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle. He said it’s something that shouldn’t stop people from getting the shot. “The risks of getting myocarditis are low. It’s a rare complication and again, it’s less serious and less common from the vaccine than from actually getting the disease,” Shessler said.
MANCHESTER, NH —
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recommended extending booster shot eligibility to 16- and 17-year-olds.
Pfizer’s vaccine and booster are the only ones currently available to anyone under the age of 18.
The CDC strongly encourages all 16- and 17-year-olds to get the booster dose if they are at least six months past their second dose, saying it will help bolster protection against coronavirus variants.
A pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital in Dartmouth-Hitchcock told WMUR he is excited about the prospect of young people being able to get the booster.
“How well the vaccine works starts to decline after about 6 months, and there are already about 2 million older teens who are six months away from their second injection, so getting a third shot really brings that efficacy back” says Dr. Erik Shessler, CHaD pediatrician, said.
Shessler also addressed parental concerns about a rare side effect of the vaccine in younger people called myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle.
He said it’s something that shouldn’t stop people from taking the shot.
“The risks of getting myocarditis are low. It’s a rare complication and again, it’s less serious and less common from the vaccine than from actually getting the disease,” Shessler said.
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