With the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use in children starting at age 12, the Bucks County-overseen mass vaccination clinics will begin administering it to those who are eligible.
Bucks County spokesperson Larry King confirmed the county will begin administering the two-dose vaccine to those ages 12 and up. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine already received a federal emergency use authorization authorization for use on people age 16 and older.
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The county operates walk-in vaccination clinics in Bensalem Township, Bristol Township, Newtown Township, outside of Perkasie, and Warwick Township. Those looking to learn more about the county vaccination sites can visit the county’s vaccination portal.
Numerous other sites in Bucks County are vaccinating people. The federal vaccine finder map can also be used.
The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are not approved for those under 18.
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“Today’s action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic,” Acting U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a news release Monday night.
“We’re very excited about Pfizer being approved for everyone age 12 and up,” Bucks County Health Department Director Dr. David Damsker said in a statement Tuesday. “I highly recommend that everyone newly eligible from 12 to 15 get the vaccine as soon as possible.”
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Data has shown that most children with COVID-19 have a few or mild symptoms, but they are able to pass along the novel coronavirus to others and fuel outbreaks. Infections among students at area schools have caused disruptions to learning and stress for students, parents, and school staff.
“Even though COVID doesn’t affect kids very much overall, getting vaccinated helps lower the spread in the community,” Damsker said. “That ends up protecting everyone in the end, and will help us shed these wretched masks.”
The federal use authorization comes as officials are seeking to inoculate more people, including middle and high school students who, in many cases, are back in the classroom. President Joe Biden has made it a cornerstone of his administration’s COVID-19 efforts to get all students back in classrooms,
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County and state officials have been encouraging residents to get vaccinated, which will lead to dramatically dropping infections and returning to a more normal operating environment for businesses.
Pennsylvania reported Monday that about 53 percent of residents have received at least one dose of vaccine. Bucks County has 97,249 people that are partly vaccinated and 194,000 that are fully vaccinated.
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