The Food and Drug Administration Tuesday authorized the first COVID-19 vaccine booster for children ages 5 to 11.
The authorization makes all children in that age group who received their second shot at least five months ago eligible to receive a third shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The companies requested the authorization based on a small study that the companies and FDA said demonstrated a third shot is safe and can significantly boost antibody levels, countering waning immunity and providing added protection against the virus, including the more contagious omicron variant.
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