When can kids 12 to 15 get a COVID vaccine? Sacramento providers waiting on a few more steps
The Food and Drug Administration has cleared Pfizer’s two-dose COVID-19 vaccine for use in children ages 12 to 15, but local health providers are awaiting a few more procedural steps before they can offer jabs or appointments to adolescents in that group.
“By mid-week, the next step is for the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to make its review, as well as the Western States Scientific Safety Review to independently review the FDA’s expanded EUA related to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine,” Sacramento County’s health office explained in an update to its COVID-19 webpage.
The CDC advisory committee is holding an emergency meeting Wednesday, with a vote on whether to recommend granting Pfizer’s vaccine authorization for adolescents on the agenda.
The Western States Scientific Safety Review is a panel of scientific and medical experts that California and other West Coast states established last year to conduct independent reviews on matters regarding COVID-19 vaccines.
The Western States panel has yet to make any recommendation contradicting federal agencies and typically makes its decisions within a day or less of the FDA or CDC.
“Upon their approval, the use of the Pfizer vaccine for 12-15 year olds may begin in California counties,” Sacramento County’s explanation continues.
If the recommendation processes go as expected, these adolescents could be cleared to start receiving vaccine doses in California by as early as Thursday.
County health offices — as well as local health networks including UC Davis Health, Sutter Health, Kaiser Permanente and Mercy Medical Group — have not yet shared specific details regarding when and where children may be able to get their first dose, as they all await finalized authorizations as well as guidance from the California Department of Public Health on vaccinating ages to 12 to 15.
CDPH plans a media briefing Tuesday afternoon to “discuss the state’s plan to vaccinate this next age group.”
Sacramento County spokeswoman Brenda Bongiorno told The Sacramento Bee that how soon a clinic expands to ages 12 to 15 after being cleared to do so is “a decision for the providers administering the vaccine, but the basic infrastructure is there to ramp up quickly — they will just need to be sure to implement any additional guidance we receive from the state.”
Once authorized, local providers could expand first-dose Pfizer clinics that have been available to ages 16 and older to become available to those 12 and up. They could also establish new clinics designated specifically for juveniles.
Bongiorno told The Bee in an emailed response that the county and its partners will likely do “a bit of both.”
“For example we already are working with the schools and we will help our partners with the state’s guidance at existing vaccination sites,” Bongiorno said.
Sacramento County has more than 90 different vaccination partners of varying size, county health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said previously.
Michael Condrin, chief operating officer for ambulatory care at UC Davis Health, said this month the health system was “planning with Sacramento County” for the anticipated expansion to 12- to 15-year-olds.
The state and local health providers have recently noted the need to transition away from mass vaccination sites, where demand has dropped significantly in recent weeks, to more targeted community-based efforts including mobile sites.
While demand has slowed, the incoming clearance for ages 12 to 15 will increase California’s pool of eligible residents by roughly 2 million — about 5% of the state’s population.
This story was originally published May 11, 2021 at 9:37 AM.
