WKOW — The Food and Drug Administration announced Monday that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is now available for minors age 12 to 15, in a significant expansion from the original order.
According to a news release from the FDA, 1.5 million US COVID-19 cases have been detected in kids age 11 to 17.
According to Peter Marks, director of the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, vaccinating minors is an important step in reaching the end of the pandemic.
“With science guiding our evaluation and decision-making process, the FDA can assure the public and medical community that the available data meet our rigorous standards to support the emergency use of this vaccine in the adolescent population 12 years of age and older,” Marks said in the release.
The FDA recently completed a study on the effects of the Pfizer vaccine on kids age 12 to 15, with 1,131 adolescents receiving the vaccine. The most common side effects were in line with those experienced by adults; with tiredness, headache, chills, pain at the injection site, muscle and joint paint as well as mild fever.
“Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations,” acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in the release.