Health & Fitness
Pfizer Vaccinations Available In Bucks County For Kids Ages 12-15
The authorization of use of the vaccine among younger patients comes as confirmed COVID-19 cases have dropped by 32 percent since last week.
WARMINSTER, PA — As confirmed cases of the coronavirus continue to drop around Bucks County, county health officials announced Monday that younger residents are eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized use of the vaccine among patients ages 12 to 15.
The Pfizer vaccine, which is available at all five of Bucks County’s mass vaccination sites, was previously only approved for patients ages 18 and older. However, on Monday the FDA granted authorization for the vaccine to be distributed to younger residents after the agency reviewed data from clinical trials that were conducted in March involving patients ages 12 to 15.
“We’re very excited about Pfizer being approved for everyone age 12 and up,” Dr. David Damsker, director of the Bucks County Health Department said in a news release. “I highly recommend that everyone newly eligible from 12 to 15 get the vaccine as soon as possible.
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“Even though COVID doesn’t affect kids very much overall, getting vaccinated helps lower the spread in the community. “That ends up protecting everyone in the end and will help us shed these wretched masks.”
Registration for appointments for younger patients can be completed at the county website.
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Monday’s announcement comes as vaccinations continue to take place across Bucks County, which experienced a 32 percent drop in confirmed coronavirus cases from a week ago. Since early April, local cases have dropped by 60 percent, health officials said.
The county’s seven-day average stood at 114 as of Saturday, which is the lowest it has been since Nov. 6, officials said. Hospitalizations also continue to drop as 64 Bucks County residents are hospitalized with the coronavirus, 10 of which are on ventilators. The county reported 12 COVID-19-related deaths last week, which takes the county’s death toll to 1,264 since the start of the pandemic.
More than 467,000 doses of the vaccines have been administered in the county and more than 194,000 residents are fully vaccinated, officials said.
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