Monday was a day that the Food and Drug Administration expanded eligibility. PfizerAnd BioNTechChildren aged 12-15 years receive booster shots as school resumes following winter break due to a rise in Covid infections.

The highly contagious Omicron variant of Covid has replaced delta as the predominant strain in America, causing a new Covid pandemic. As of Sunday, the U.S. had reported an average 7-day count of 404,000 infections. This is a 104% increase over the previous week.

Schools should not be closed by elected officials. Studies from the United Kingdom show that booster shots greatly increase a child’s resistance to infection with omicron. Although two doses of Pfizer vaccine protect from severe disease caused by omicron (the original series) are less effective in preventing the second variant, they still provide protection.

The director of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is Dr. Rochelle Walensky. She has encouraged all who are eligible for a booster to take it. The CDC has yet to approve expanded eligibility for 12 and 15-year old children.

According to CDC data more than 65% are fully vaccinated in America for children 5 years and over. Children below 5 years are not eligible to receive vaccinations.

There is increasing evidence from South Africa and the United Kingdom that Omicron causes hospitalizations less frequently than the Delta variant. However, researchers and officials in public health caution that the data does not provide enough information to make any general conclusions regarding the severity of the variant.

While Covid is less common in children, there are more pediatric hospital admissions in the U.S.

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