‘Ticket for back to normal’

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine soon will be available for children age 12-15.

Washington County Public Health Director Danielle Pettit-Majewski said Wednesday that the CDC’s Vaccine Committee is expected to announce its emergency approval at any time.

“The FDA has already approved it,” Pettit-Majewski said. “We still need the CDC approval.”

The Pfizer vaccine is already approved for use in people age 16 and over.

The question right now is whether Washington County Public Health will receive any allocations of the Pfizer vaccine once the approval has been expanded to 12- to 15-year-olds.

Washington County Public Health, so far, has only received shipments of the Moderna vaccine, which is only approved for use in people age 18 and over.

“We have had no guidance whether we’ll get the Pfizer vaccine shipped to us,” Pettit-Majewski said. “We’re still in a wait and see situation.”

Public Health may have to collaborate with retail pharmacy partners who do receive the Pfizer vaccine.

“If we have to play a support role, we’ll do that,” Pettit-Majewski said.

Ideas have already been discussed about how to get teenagers vaccinated.

“We’ll look at school-based clinics with parental permission,” she said. “We will be happy to answer any parent questions about safety.”

She noted that the clinical trials show the Pfizer vaccine has 100 percent efficacy in 12- to 15-year-olds.

“That’s incredible,” she said.

Another option is getting approval to include the COVID-19 vaccine with other childhood immunizations.

“They say you’re not allowed to have a (COVID) vaccine within two weeks of another vaccine,” Pettit-Majewski said. “There has been some conversation about lifting that blackout period and pairing it with other childhood vaccines.”

She said that the key is to get as many people immunized as quickly as possible.

“This is our ticket for back to normal,” she said.