Two weeks ago, the booster shot was approved for children ages twelve to fifteen. First, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the shot, and then the Center for Disease Control (CDC) authorized it a few days later. After the holidays were over and students started going back to school, there was a surge in Covid cases. About 334 children per day were admitted to hospitals in the United States with Covid from December 21 to 27, 2021. Majority of these children were unvaccinated. Hopefully, the booster shot being available to more people will help slow the spread and will help keep children out of the hospitals. 

However, there are some conditions for getting the shot that make it a little difficult. First, in order for twelve to fifteen year olds to be eligible for the shot, it has to have been at least five months since their last dose. This is because Pfizer is the only shot children younger than eighteen can get and people have to wait five months before getting the Pfizer booster. Also, if a person has Covid, they have to wait to get the shot until they have recovered and ended their quarantine. Even if a person meets these two requirements, they still have to find an appointment time that works for them, also keeping in mind that they may have a reaction to the shot the next day. In New Jersey, approximately 256,000 children ages twelve to fifteen have gotten their first two shots. “By Monday, January 10, over 155,000 of these adolescents, or 61%, will be eligible for booster doses” (NJ.gov). These 101,000 children are not eligible because they may have gotten their shot later and not enough time has passed for them to get the booster. As more and more children become eligible for the booster in the coming months, hopefully a decrease in cases will be seen.