The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meets Wednesday for a four-hour meeting to review Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 booster shots for kids ages 12 to 15.
The Food and Drug Administration expanded the eligibility of the shots to adolescents on Monday. The FDA said no new safety concerns had emerged after evaluating real-world data from Israel on 6,300 kids ages 12 through 15 who received a Pfizer booster dose.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said earlier Wednesday that booster shots were "critical" to guard against Covid, particularly, the omicron variant.
The meeting starts at 1 p.m. ET and is scheduled to wrap up around 5 p.m. with a vote on whether to recommend the shots at the end of the day. Shots could be administered to kids as early as tonight, depending on how fast Walensky signs off on the panel's recommendation.