Kids 12-15 begin getting vaccine for COVID-19
A sprint to give shots by the fall
U.S. health advisers endorsed use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in kids as young as 12 on Wednesday, just as expected new guidelines say it’s OK for people of any age to get the shot at the same time as other needed vaccinations.
The sprint to vaccinate millions of middle and high school students has already started in parts of the country as a long line of kids rolled up their sleeves in suburban Atlanta for a first dose Wednesday. But much of the nation was awaiting recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that Pfizer’s vaccine, already used for months in those 16 and older, was a good choice for 12- to 15-year-olds, too. The CDC was expected to accept its advisers’ recommendation.
“It just felt like a flu shot, honestly,” Meredith Rogers, a 14-year-old middle school student from Decatur, Georgia, said after getting her vaccination.
Michelle Rogers, Meredith’s mother, said she hoped the youth vaccinations would help bring some normalcy back.
“A little apprehensive, but you know what? This is a step towards getting life back to normal, so we’re all in,” Michelle Rogers said with a slight fist pump.
Earlier in the week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of the two-shot vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech. A study of more than 2,000 12- to 15-year-olds found the same dose adults use is safe and strongly protective in the kids, too.
Among the outstanding questions: Is it OK to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at the same doctor’s visit as people receive some routine vaccinations? That’s an urgent back-to-school concern and an issue for adults, as well.
The CDC until now has recommended not getting other vaccinations within two weeks of a COVID shot. But the CDC said Wednesday that it is changing that advice because the COVID vaccines have proved so safe.