The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is finalizing plans to authorize COVID booster shots for kids ages 12-15, according to a report from the New York Times.
Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is the only one authorized for children over the age of five. Vaccines made by Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have only been authorized for adults.
The agency is expected to allow adults and adolescents to get the booster shot five months after receiving their second dose of mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer or Moderna. Currently, the boosters are authorized to be administered after six months. The authorization will also allow children between the ages of 5 and 11 to get a booster shot if they are immunocompromised.
The FDA is expected to make the announcement as early as Monday (January 3). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet next week to discuss the possible recommendation. If the committee agrees with the FDA's recommendation, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will then have to give the final sign-off.
The report comes one day after Walensky told CNN's New Day that she expects the boosters to be authorized for adolescents in the coming weeks.
"So the FDA is looking at that right now. Of course, the CDC will swiftly follow as soon as we hear from them, and I'm hoping to have that in the days to weeks ahead."