Canada recently authorised a single booster shot of Pfizer and partner BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds.
Regulator Health Canada had cleared an extra dose of the vaccine for people aged 18 years and older in November last year. The booster is meant to be administered six months after the primary two-dose series.
The decision was based on data from two studies of the booster shot among individuals aged 16 years and older. The agency said potential risks of inflammatory heart conditions, myocarditis or pericarditis, have been included in the shot’s label.
The cases have been reported after administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s COVID-19 shot, especially among young men. Health Canada had authorised a primary series of Pfizer’s shot for those aged 16 years and older in December 2020.
In the US, a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, branded Comirnaty, is cleared for use among children as young as five years.
Edits by EP News Bureau