COVID Vaccine: Evidence Presented At CDC Meeting Shows Benefits Of Pfizer Shots To Children 12-15 Outweigh Negatives
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Centers for Disease Control advisory panel has recommended the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 12 to 15.
Now, the CDC director must formally sign it.
CBS2's Alice Gainer visited the Javits Center vaccination site on Wednesday and has more on what all this means.
Once it is signed, as early as Thursday you can get your child a shot here in New York City at one of the more than 250 sites that offer the Pfizer vaccine.
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Still, not every parent is on board, so there are efforts underway to change that as in-person school, sports and other activities resume.
Children 12 to 15 will soon be able to get the same two doses of the Pfizer vaccine as adults.
"I would have them vaccinated as soon as possible," one parent said.
According to the CDC, about half of parents surveyed say they will vaccinate their children. There are many common reasons why others say they won't.
"Not being sure it's safe or that the vaccine was developed too quickly," one member of the advisory committee said.
During the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices public meeting Wednesday, evidence was presented to show that the benefits of the Pfizer vaccine outweigh any negatives.
"For all persons aged 12 to 15 years, there were zero cases among 1,001 persons in the vaccine arm and 16 cases among 972 persons in the placebo arm, which resulted in a vaccine efficacy estimate of 100%," the committee member said.
The data says to date there have been over 1.5 million reported cases and 13,000 hospitalizations among kids 12-17, and 127 COVID deaths for that age group.
"While this sounds low, it's worth noting that this would still be in the top 10 causes of deaths among children in 2019, which is the last year that we have top 10 causes of death for comparison," the committee member said.
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Another reason to vaccinate kids is it "protects others around them," one person said.
The CDC says adults living with a child in full-time in-person school was associated with a higher risk for COVID-19-like illness.
Here in New York City, officials want to get all parents on board.
"Actively working with community pediatricians and the Department of Education, who will be critical to both administering the vaccine, as well as communicating with parents and guardians about its safety," Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said.
The Department of Health said it has allocated vaccines to all providers who requested an order, so residents are encouraged to see their child's pediatrician.
The CDC says tweens and teens will experience the same side effects as adults, mostly sore arms, flu-like fever or chills, and aches.
