Children can now get at least one vaccine to fight COVID-19.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced an expansion of the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine May 10 to adolescents age 12 through 15, meaning that everyone 12 and over is now eligible to receive a vaccination for free at a suitable provider.
“The FDA’s expansion of the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age is a significant step in the fight against the COVID- 19 pandemic,” Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D., said as part of the announcement. “Today’s action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic. Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations.”
The state of Arizona quickly followed suit, authorizing vaccinations of minors over the age of 12 on May 11.
“We’re delighted to be able to welcome these young people to state- run mass-vaccination sites starting Thursday,” Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ said. “These safe, highly effective and free vaccines are our best shot at returning to normal, and having more vaccinated individuals gives COVID-19 less of a chance of spreading.”
Vaccinations of teenagers in the Verde Valley began shortly after, with pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens opening up appointments for 12 and older last week. Safeway’s pharmacy began offering vaccinations to youngsters on Thursday, including walk-ins, and Spectrum Healthcare began doing so on Friday, though they require appointments in advance for adolescents, which are not required for adults, due to the storage difficulties of the Pfizer vaccine.
“We can only have them in very limited spaces because they need a dry ice setup,” Spectrum Vice President of Integration Sunshine Dean said. According to Dean, because of the need for supercool storage, unlike the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines that have until now mostly been administered in Yavapai County, the Pfizer vaccine will only be offered at its Cottonwood location on Mingus Avenue as well as their Prescott location, not at satellite locations such as Camp Verde. The health care nonprofit specifically purchased doses of the Pfizer vaccine in addition to Moderna and Johnson & Johnson for the express purpose of vaccinating adolescents.
Unlike vaccinations for adults, a guardian must accompany a minor getting vaccinated in order to sign consent forms.
So far, Dean says that they have not encountered particularly high demand for vaccines from adolescents, but she expects that if they do, they may expand vaccine availability with mobile clinics.
According to ADHS, 3.1 million or 43.8% of Arizona residents have been vaccinated as of Monday, May 17.
