NJ Ready For Kids To Get COVID Vaccine Approval: Here's How, When

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy said on Monday that New Jersey is preparing for the emergency authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12-15. State officials outlined when they could happen and how it will be orchestrated.

Murphy said the state expects the Food and Drug Administration to authorize the use of the Pfizer vaccine for use by adolescents aged 12 to 15 sometime this week. Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said that approval may come as early as Wednesday.

"We anticipate being able to transition to vaccinating eligible adolescents as soon as Pfizer receives its emergency use authorization," Murphy said.

Murphy said children may be able to get vaccinated in one of the following ways:

• through partnerships with schools;
• pediatricians;
• local pharmacies;
• at mega-sites;
• using the state's COVID-19 mega-sites to bring doses directly to the communities where the children live; and
• Walgreens, which is already vaccinating residents ages 16-and-up;

Parents would be kept informed about the vaccination campaign in a number of ways, including through their schools, Murphy said. The Department of Health is currently working on formal plans to keep parents, guardians and practitioners informed.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will meet Wednesday, and make a recommendation to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Persichilli said.

"The Department of Health has already been thinking ahead for this eventuality," Murphy said. "The department's overall goal is to ensure that adolescents who are eligible to be vaccinated receive their doses in an environment that is comforting and accessible."

As of Monday, there have been seven coronavirus-related deaths among residents under the age of 18 in New Jersey, Murphy said. Clinical trials for a vaccine that can be used for residents as young as 2 years old are ongoing, according to Department of Health Communicable Disease Service Medical Director Dr. Edward Lifshitz.

"So by this fall, there may be a vaccine authorized for patients that young, but I wouldn't expect anything earlier than that," Lifshitz said.

Vaccinating students would go toward Murphy's goal of having everyone return to in-person learning full-time for the beginning of the 2021-22 school year. Murphy has also been advocating for a full return to classroom instruction, possibly by the end of the 2020-21 school year. Read more here: NJ Needs All Kids Back In Classrooms Amid COVID

"We want to see schools back in person, and we are highly confident we can do that safely and responsibly," Murphy said on Monday.

As of Monday, 338 school districts were open for in-person learning full time, while 13 were still using an all-remote format.

Statewide, 3,629,909 adults are fully vaccinated, while about 4.5 million residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine, Murphy said. The initial goal is to have 4.7 million adults fully vaccinated by the end of June.