The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to sign off on the emergency use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents ages 12-15. This comes after the FDA gave its backing Monday.
“The FDA will not issue an emergency use for children unless there is data to show that it works and it is safe and that’s exactly what they did with adult vaccines for COVID in December,” Suzanne Whitworth, the Medical Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases for Cook Children’s Health Care Systems said.
While Cook Children’s will not administer the Pfizer vaccine due to ultracold storage limitations, they are helping patients find Pfizer vaccines at other locations. When Moderna is approved for this adolescent age group, the Fort Worth hospital will start giving the vaccine to pediatric patients as well.
“From the beginning of the pandemic, children have had less disease than adults have, but they haven’t had no disease. They’ve certainly been ill,” Whitworth said. “We’ve had them in the hospital with acute COVID pneumonia. Some have required life support. We’ve had them in the hospital with the inflammatory syndrome. Some have required life support.”
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Whitworth agrees with the push to get the adolescents vaccinated before the start of school and before summer sports practices.
“Getting vaccinated is the way to make this end for sure,” she said. “The vaccines that we have are good.”
Want to Get on a Vaccine Waitlist?
County health departments have launched waitlists for adults 16 years old and over.
You can register to recieve the vaccination in Collin, Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties. Links are below:
Waitlist Links: Collin - Search Waitlist | Dallas | Denton | Tarrant
You do not need to be a resident of the county to register for a COVID-19 vaccine in that county -- registration is open to anyone in Texas. For those without internet access, Tarrant County is also taking registrations by phone at 817-248-6299. In Dallas County, call the DCHHS vaccine hotline at 1-855-IMMUNE9 (1-855-466-8639). In Denton County, call 940-349-2585.
For a more detailed breakdown of who is included in each priority group in Texas, see this page from the Texas DSHS.
