DHS recommends Pfizer COVID boosters for 16 and older
US health officials are urging Americans to get vaccinated, as research teams try to learn more about a highly mutated new coronavirus variant identified by South African scientists. (Eli Jordan FOX 5 Atlanta)
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) supports the recommendation that 16- and 17-year-olds receive a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech (Pfizer) COVID-19 vaccine at least six months after having received their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech (Pfizer) COVID-19 vaccine.
"The approval of the Pfizer vaccine booster dose for 16- and 17-year-olds provides another opportunity for more Wisconsinites to get additional protection from COVID-19," said DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. "The COVID-19 booster doses are important tools as we work to slow the spread of COVID-19 and its variants. Being fully vaccinated and getting a booster dose is the best protection for preventing the worst outcomes from COVID-19. We encourage everyone ages 16 and older to join the more than 1.2 million Wisconsinites who have already gotten their booster or additional COVID-19 vaccine dose."
This recommendation supplements the previous CDC recommendation that anyone 18 and older receive a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine at least six months after the completion of their Pfizer or Moderna vaccine primary series and two months after the single Johnson & Johnson dose. The previous CDC recommendation allows for mix-and-match dosing for booster doses for those 18 and older. At this time, the Pfizer vaccine booster dose is the only one recommended for 16- and 17-year-olds.
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