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.
Chicago public health officials announced changes to the city’s inoculation deployment strategy on Friday, as they deal with the ongoing pause in administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Everett Collection Historical / Alamy Stock Photo
Fred Hampton led Illinois’s Black Panther Party from 1968 until his death the following year. His killing remains the subject of much scrutiny, as Hampton died after Chicago Police officers raided his West Side apartment on the morning of December 4, 1969. The police fired 99 shots, killing the 21-year-old Hampton and his fellow Panther, 22-year-old Mark Clark. The Panthers fired just once.
Shaka King s new biopic,
Judas and the Black Messiah, focuses on Hampton and the events leading up to his death, as well as the role paid informant William O’Neal a Black man who served as chief of security for the Black Panther Party played in helping the FBI infiltrate the Party and obtain information on Hampton, including the layout of his apartment. Here are 10 facts about Hampton and the enduring legacy he created in his tragically short life.