Pfizer has announced it is seeking US authorisation for Covid booster shots among adolescents aged 16 and 17, as concerns grow about the impact of the new Omicron variant, AFP reports.

The Food and Drug Administration has so far only granted emergency use authorisations (EUAs) for boosters to people aged 18 and over, six months after their primary series of the Pfizer or Moderna Covid vaccine, or two months after the Johnson & Johnson shot.

“Today, we submitted a request to the @US_FDA to expand the emergency use authorization of a booster dose of our Covid-19 vaccine to include 16- and 17-year-olds,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla wrote on Twitter.