COVID boosters urged for younger teens
The U.S. is urging that everyone 12 and older get a COVID-19 booster as soon as they’re eligible, to helpbattle the hugely contagious omicron mutant that’s ripping through the country.
Boosters already were encouraged for all Americans 16 and older, but Wednesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed an extra Pfizer shot for younger teens — those 12 to 15 — and strengthened its recommendation that 16- and 17-year-olds get it, too.
“It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease,“Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s director, said in a statement Wednesday night.
“This booster dose will provide optimized protection against COVID-19 and the omicron variant. I encourage all parents to keep their children up to date with CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine recommendations,” she said.
Earlier Wednesday, the CDC’s independent scientific advisers recommended that children as young as 12 get COVID-19 boosters as soon as they’re eligible.
During the public comment part of Wednesday’s meeting, Dr. Julie Boom of Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston said a booster recommendation for younger teens “cannot come soon enough.”
The vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech is the only option for American children of any age. The CDC says about 13.5 million children ages 12 to 17 — slightly more than half of that age group — have received two Pfizer shots. Boosters were opened to 16- and 17-year-olds last month.
Wednesday’s decision means about 5 million of the younger teens who had their last shot in the spring are eligible for a booster right away. New U.S. guidelines say anyone who received two Pfizer vaccinations and is eligible for a booster can get it five months after their last shot, rather than the six months previously recommended.
In other coronavirus news:
• Chicago school leaders canceled classes for a second consecutive day after failing to reach agreement with the teachers union over COVID-19 safety protocols in the nation’s third-largest school district.
The Chicago Teachers Union sought to revert to remote instruction during the latest surge of infections and while both sides hammer out a deal. But Chicago Public Schools leaders have said remote learning didn’t work and schools can remain open safely with protocols in place.
The move to cancel classes and activities Thursday affects roughly 350,000 students and came after closed-door negotiations Wednesday failed to produce a deal.
• The Grammy Awards were postponed Wednesday weeks before the planned Los Angeles ceremony over what organizers called “too many risks” from the omicron variant, signaling what could be the start of another year of pandemic upheaval for awards season.
The attempt at a back-to-normal show had been scheduled for Jan. 31 at the newly renamed Crypto.com Arena with a live audience and performances, but no new date is on the books. The Recording Academy said it postponed the ceremony “after careful consideration and analysis with city and state officials, health and safety experts, the artist community and our many partners.
“Given the uncertainty surrounding the omicron variant, holding the show on January 31st simply contains too many risks,” the academy said in a statement.
• Rio de Janeiro canceled its world-renowned Carnival street parties for the second straight year as a new wave of infections spreads through the Brazilian city. But the official parade will go on.
• Just two weeks before it was to be held in Park City, Utah, the Sundance Film Festival announced that it’s canceling its in-person festival and reverting to an entirely virtual edition.