By Daniel Vega
After months and months of waiting, the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has finally been approved for emergency use on children 12-15. There are many 12-15 olds who have been eager to get the vaccine, and finally, now they can. The FDA formally granted an Emergency Use Authorization to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday night, the CDC advisory board formally voted to recommend that all children ages 12-15 years old who can get the covid vaccine get it. After that, parents began to book appointments for their children. With vaccinations of 12-15 year olds beginning on Wednesday night just hours after the CDC recommended children receive the vaccine. As of Tuesday, May 18th over 600,000 children ages 12-15 have already received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, according to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
In California, the Pfizer covid vaccine is offered for 12-15 year olds at most CVS, Walgreen, and Rite Aid pharmacies, all that is needed is an appointment that can be made on their websites. Vaccines are also offered at many public vaccination sites. In order to schedule an appointment at any public vaccination site, you can go to https://myturn.ca.gov/ where you will be asked to fill out your information, keep in mind parents must fill out information for children. Once all of your information is filled out, a list of vaccination sites will be shown, you will be able to choose a vaccination site and schedule an appointment. Then all you need to do is show up and get vaccinated. A few public vaccination sites include Arroyo Valley High School, the Grace Vargas Senior Center, and the Ontario Convention Center.
While many parents and students are scared to get vaccinated, the CDC, FDA, as well as Pfizer have all stated that this vaccine is safe and effective. In children ages 12-15, the clinical trial for the Pfizer covid 19 vaccine showed that it was 100% effective at preventing covid 19 infection, as opposed to the 95% efficacy rate of the Pfizer vaccine in adults. This data means that if children get the Pfizer covid vaccine, they will not get covid. Furthermore, this vaccine means that no more children will have to die from covid, especially those who are high risk, as sadly, at least 96 children from the ages 11-17 have died from covid, while that may seem like a little bit, even one child dead is too many. That’s 96 families broken, 96 families mourning the loss of a child. For more information regarding the safety and efficacy of vaccines, I encourage you to check out another article published in the Golden Gazette titled “The Vaccine”.
As you have seen, the Pfizer covid vaccine is safe and effective for children, and many children have been getting vaccinated. So far, of the 600,000 children ages 12-15 who have gotten the vaccine, none have had any life threatening side effects. The covid vaccine has finally been approved for children 12-15, and as health experts have been saying all along, “when it’s your turn get the vaccine”.
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