Biden: More than 15,000 Pharmacies Prepared to Vaccinate 12-15-Year-Olds
Pharmacies quickly geared up for a new onslaught on vaccine-seekers as federal officials recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot for 12-15-year-olds. President Joe Biden emphasized that, in many cases, a pharmacy administering the vaccine was as close as the children’s school in many cases. Here is more information.
WASHINGTON – After a key advisory group and the director of the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines in adolescents 12-15, President Joe Biden emphasized the importance of pharmacies in delivering the shots.
Biden pointed out that more than 15,000 pharmacies were prepared to vaccinate adolescents ages 12-15.
“Now [the Pfizer] vaccine is authorized for ages 12 and up, and I encourage their parents to make sure they get the shot,” the president said. “As I promised last week, we’re ready. This new population is going to find the vaccine rollout fast and efficient. As of [Thursday, May 13], more than 15,000 pharmacies across this country will be ready to vaccinate this age group. Most of these pharmacies are as close as the kid’s school is to their family home.”
Lowering the age of receiving that vaccine from 16 to 12 involved action from the Food and Drug Administration, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and adoption by CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD.
In announcing her decision, Walensky said, “CDC now recommends that this vaccine be used among this population, and providers may begin vaccinating them right away.”
“Though most children with COVID-19 have mild or no symptoms, some children can get severely ill and require hospitalization,” she added. “There have also been rare, tragic cases of children dying from COVID-19 and its effects, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C.”
Earlier, the FDA expanded the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. “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. Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, MD, called that a “significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,”
“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,” Woodcock explained. “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 CDC noted that, with the change, another 17 million adolescents in the United States are eligible for the vaccine.
Largely because many pharmacies are offering the vaccines, about nine out of 10 Americans live within 5 miles of a COVID-19 vaccination site, according to public health officials, who note that two popular ride-sharing services will offer free rides to vaccination appointments until July 4. Those seeking transportation can visit vaccines.gov; text their ZIP code to 438829 (GETVAX), or call 1-800-232-0233.
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