LA City Sites To Vaccinate Children 12 And Up Beginning Friday
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Mass vaccination sites run by the city of Los Angeles will begin offering the coronavirus vaccine to children aged 12 and up Friday, one day after nearly all other agencies and providers began inoculating people in that age group.
This comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday formally endorsed Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents aged 12 to 15.
L.A. County-run sites already began offering the Pfizer vaccine on Thursday, however, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said city-run sites, including Dodger Stadium, would wait until Friday. Appointments are not required.
L.A. County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said Thursday there are about 500,000 county residents aged 12 to 15.
Grocery chain Ralphs began offering doses to children 12 and older on Thursday, as did CVS and Rite Aid.
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Most sites require that children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, or that the child is accompanied by a responsible adult and has a signed consent form.
Only the Pfizer vaccine is approved for youth age 12 to 17. A full list of vaccination sites in L.A. County offering the Pfizer vaccine is available here.
As of May 9, more than 8.63 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in L.A. County. At least 52% of residents 16 and older have received at least one dose.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)