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State-run Community Vaccination Centers to Begin Offering COVID-19 Vaccine to Adolescents on Friday
Posted by Staff | May 14, 2021 | News | |
(Richmond, Va.) Virginia’s state-run Community Vaccination Clinics (CVCs) will begin offering the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents aged 12-15 on Friday, following federal approval Wednesday of the vaccine for that age group.
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced to providers late Wednesday they could begin administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to 12- to 15-year-olds after the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) approved its use. The vaccine previously had been approved for use in those 16 and older. Two other COVID-19 vaccines are available for people 18 and older.
Virginia Beach –Virginia Beach Convention Center
Newport News –13771 Warwick Boulevard in the former Sherwood Shopping Center
Hampton – Hampton Coliseum
To schedule an appointment at these or other vaccination sites in Virginia, go to vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 877-VAX-IN-VA (877-829-4682). The call center hours will change on Monday, May 17, to 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays.
At CVCs, adolescents must have the consent of a parent or legal guardian and be accompanied by a parent, guardian or someone acting in the place of a guardian to receive a vaccine. Additionally, sites run by the Virginia Department of Health require the parent or guardian verbally confirm a minor’s date of birth; however, other providers may require additional proof of age.
Vaccination providers around Virginia are now administering the Pfizer shot to anyone age 12 and older.
The state’s vaccine coordinator, Doctor Danny Avula, said it’s still important to get children vaccinated, even though they’re less likely to develop severe cases of COVID-19. The fact that they get mild or asymptomatic disease in some ways makes it more possible for them to spread COVID, Avula said during a call with reporters Thursday.
Credit AP Photo/Ron Harris
Avula said there are individual and community benefits to getting kids vaccinated because they’re less likely to contract or spread COVID-19. He also noted that fully vaccinated people don’t have to quarantine after an exposure to COVID-19. The fact that they don’t have to be out of school for 7 to 14 days, the fact that they don’t have to be out of sports teams or games for 7 to 14 days, all of those provide really practical benefits.
Thursday was the first day Virginia children between the ages of 12 and 15 could get a COVID-19 vaccine, after waiting on clearance from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, Hampton Roads distributors have been gearing up to protect kids from the new disease for days. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, which comes in two doses, is the only one cleared for children so far. It's been.