 And from the United Kingdom, we moved to the United States, where the Food and Drug Administration on Monday authorized the use of a third dose of Pfizer, PFEN, and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 15. It narrowed it down to the interval for booster shots, eligibility to five months from six. Now there is more in this report. As COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket in the U.S., the FDA on Monday authorized a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged 12 to 15 and for 5 to 11-year-olds who are immunocompromised. The agency also narrowed the time for all booster shots to five months instead of six months after the primary doses, saying a shorter window could offer better and quicker protection against the Omicron variant. COVID cases are surging due to the highly transmissible variants which health officials say could quickly overwhelm hospitals. Studies show boosters appear to be protective against Omicron. Two shots of the mRNA vaccine are about 35 percent effective against Omicron, but a booster dose increases effectiveness to 75 percent according to the CDC based on data from South Africa and the United Kingdom. In authorizing boosters for young teens, the FDA said it reviewed data on the safety of a third dose provided by the Israeli Ministry of Health, including data from over 6,300 individuals 12 to 15 years of age who received a Pfizer shot. Israel on Sunday said it would offer a fourth dose of the Pfizer vaccine to people over 60 and medical staff.