One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
Kids As Young As 12 May Be Able To Get The COVID-19 Vaccine Soon
A group of teenagers serving as COVID-19 Student Ambassadors receive a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Detroit, Michigan on April 6, 2021.
(
Matthew Hatcher
/
Getty Images
)
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize the use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 15 in the next few days.
Pfizer reported several weeks ago that in the clinical trial, none of the adolescents who received the vaccine developed symptomatic infections, a sign of significant protection.
Barbara Ferrer, director of L.A. County's Department of Public Health, said her staff is prepared to offer the shot, for free, to kids.
"We already use Pfizer at all of the county sites," Ferrer said. "We are working with our staff so they will be well prepared to start vaccinating 12 to 15 year olds. We’re working with the state on a standardized consent form. One reason we’re expanding all of the sites at our schools is so that, again, we have more places children are already at for them to be able to easily get vaccinated."
NPR recently reported that children now account for 22% of new COVID-19 cases in the United States. Experts link the trend to several factors including more transmissible coronavirus variants and high vaccination rates among older Americans.
After the FDA’s emergency use authorization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel will meet to review the clinical trial data and make recommendations for how the vaccine should be used with 12 to 15-year-olds.
Pfizer is the only COVID-19 vaccine that has, so far, been approved for minors.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
