12 and Up Can Get the Vaccine: CDC advises 12 to 15-year-olds to get the Pfizer vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer vaccine for ages 12-15 on Monday, May 10 and the CDC released a statement on Wednesday endorsing the approval.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was tested on 1,131 adolescents aged 12-15, according to the FDA. Half of those participants were then monitored for safety for at least two months after they received their second dose of the vaccine. These adolescents did report that they experienced symptoms of pain at the injection site, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, chills and a fever, but these effects only lasted about one to three days — which was common for other age groups as well.

Another study conducted was comparing the immune response of the vaccine in 190 12- to 15-year-olds with 170 16- to 25-year-olds.

“In this analysis, the immune response of adolescents was non-inferior to (at least as good as) the immune response of the older participants,” the FDA’s update on Monday said.

This expansion of the vaccination groups allows approximately 17 million 12-15-year-olds in the U.S. to get the vaccine. The CDC recommends for this population to get the vaccine and is encouraging providers to begin these vaccinations immediately.

“Getting adolescents vaccinated means their faster return to social activities and can provide parents and caregivers peace of mind knowing their family is protected,” CDC’s statement on Wednesday said.

Sophomore and 15-year-old Bella Lynch was relieved to find out that she could now get the vaccine.

“All of my friends are 16, so they’ve gotten theirs and they have been talking about it and I just really wanted to get my shot and I wanted to not get sick and be able to enjoy my summer,” Lynch said. “So, when I saw the article had come out I was so excited.”

After hearing about the development, Lynch scheduled an appointment at her local CVS to get her first dose of the Pfitzer COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, May 17.

“Almost all kids in high school will be able to be vaccinated, which means school can start getting back to normal and less of a chance that someone will get sick,” Lynch said. “So, I’m just really relieved that everything’s kind of starting to go back to normal.”