CDC advisory committee recommends COVID vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds

Enlarge / With new data, we're able to expand vaccinations to ever-younger populations. (credit: Roberto Jimenez Mejias / Getty Images)

Update, 10:00pm EDT: CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has followed the Advisory Committee's advice. In a statement released this evening, she said, "CDC now recommends that this vaccine be used among [the 12-15 year old] population, and providers may begin vaccinating them right away."

Original coverage follows.

On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended that the CDC approve the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for the 12- to 15-year age group. The decision comes two days after the Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization for the same age group and will help the US further limit the pool of people who can spread infections or foster the evolution of new viral variants. Given recent history, formal CDC approval could come quickly.

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