booster

Expanding eligibility for COVID-19 boosters to include ages 12 and up is welcome news as the Omicron variant fuels a surge in cases around the country. 

Following approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expanded its booster recommendation to include ages 12 to 15. The CDC previously expanded eligibility to ages 16 and 17 and is now recommending boosters for this group. 

Pima County vaccination sites started offering Pfizer booster shots for 12- to 15-year-olds on Jan. 6, following federal approval a day earlier.

Anyone in that age group is eligible providing it has been at least five months from their second dose.

Previously, only those 16 and over were eligible to receive booster doses. Only the Pfizer vaccine and booster is available for 12- to 17-year-olds. The Pfizer vaccine is authorized for children as young as 5 years old.

The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available to those 18 and over.

Maricopa County Department of Public Health has identified the County’s first COVID-19 cases involving the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) in six individuals.

Three separate clusters of cases were identified and include adults ranging in age from late teens to their 60s with no prior international travel history. To date, no serious illness has been reported and no one has been hospitalized. All remain at home in isolation while recovering.

Federal officials are recommending that Arizonans 65 and older, residents of long-term care facilities, and those ages 50 to 64 with underlying medical condi