Pfizer Vaccine Cleared For Use In Kids Ages 12-15 In Washington

OLYMPIA, WA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in children 12 through 15-years-old midday Wednesday, and after a second review by the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, so has the Washington State Department of Health (DOH).

The news follows an announcement Monday from the Food and Drug Administration granting an emergency use authorization allowing for the vaccine's use in children 12 and over.

All this to say: the vaccine has jumped through its three final hurdles this week, and parents have been given the go-ahead to schedule vaccination appointments for their children.

“Expanding eligibility to this younger age group protects our children and gives families peace of mind," said Washington Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah. "It is the best step we can take as parents to ensure our kids remain in the classroom, can safely spend time with friends, and take part in sports and extracurricular activities."

Washington did not officially make children 12-15 eligible until around 8:30p.m., several hours after most of the country had. That slight delay was because Washington is one of five states, along with California, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon, who have joined the Western States Pact and promised to work together to independently verify the safety of any CDC-approved COVID-19 vaccine. Following the CDC's announcement earlier in the day, the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup had to also convene and review the vaccine for use in the Evergreen State. Now that they have, Washington is caught up with the rest of America.

“We are very pleased that teens can now be vaccinated," said Gov. Jay Inslee. "We have seen an increase in cases among this age group, and we can now make sure they are protected with the vaccine. This will further help us bring an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The DOH estimates there are around 378,000 Washingtonians between the ages of 12 and 15. Officials say they know it's been frustrating for many of those children's parents to hold off - especially after rest of the country has started youth vaccinations - but they needed to make sure the vaccine was 100 percent safe first.

Several pharmacies have already jumped at the news and are accepting appointments for anyone 12 and older, including 27 CVS locations across Western Washington. Similarly, UW Medicine has already scheduled more than 6,000 vaccinations for patients 12-15.

While 12-15-year-olds are the newest vaccine-eligible age group in Washington, state leaders are still urging everyone else 16+ to schedule their dose and get a shot, if they haven't already. As of May 9, 57 percent of all eligible Washingtonians have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.