Several Cook County and Chicago mass vaccination sites will offer Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for children ages 12-15 starting on Thursday, a change from the country’s previous 16+ age requirement for the Pfizer vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the administration of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to 12- to 15-year-olds Wednesday afternoon. Earlier this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine for this age group following a human clinical trial, multiple evaluations from physicians and scientists and a final approval from FDA staff.
“Like adults, all youth age(d) 12 and older are encouraged to get the vaccine,” Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner Allison Arwady said in a Chicago news release. “Current data show that the vaccine is safe and effective in children, and it not only protects our kids, but also their families and our communities.”
“Like adults, all youth age 12 and older are encouraged to get the vaccine,” CDPH Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a statement. “Current data show that the vaccine is safe and effective in children, and it not only protects our kids, but also their families and our communities. In Chicago, communities with the lowest vaccination rates continue to have high case counts and rates of hospitalization and death even in teens and young adults, she continued. Help us increase vaccine uptake and get past COVID by bringing your whole family to get vaccinated together.”
The FDA s decision on Monday will now be followed by a meeting of the CDC s federal vaccine advisory committee, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (known as ACIP), to discuss whether to recommend the shot for 12- to 15-year-olds.