Pfizer and BioNTech Receive FDA Emergency Use Authorization of COVID-19 Vaccine Booster for Individuals 12 Years of Age and Older

Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include individuals 12 years of age and older. The booster dose is the same dosage strength (30-µg) as the dose approved in the primary series.

A booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was previously authorized by the FDA for emergency use after completion of a primary series in individuals 16 years of age and older. The vaccine is also authorized for eligible individuals 18 and older who have completed primary vaccination with a different authorized COVID-19 vaccine.

“The recent rise in COVID-19 cases is concerning to all and today’s decision by the FDA to further expand the Emergency Use Authorization of a booster dose of our vaccine is critical to help us ultimately defeat this pandemic,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “We continue to believe that broad use of boosters is essential to preserving a high level of protection against this disease and reducing the rate of hospitalizations.”

“The booster vaccination increases the level of immunity and improves protection against COVID-19 across all age groups that have been authorized to receive one,” said Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and Co-founder of BioNTech. “In the current situation, it is important to offer all eligible individuals a booster, particularly against the backdrop of the newly-emerging variants such as Omicron.”

Real world evidence from the Ministry of Health of Israel on the administration of over 4.1 million third doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine given at least 5 months after the primary series revealed no new safety concerns in adolescents 12 through 17 years of age.