The FDA on May 10 authorized Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for use in children as young as 12. Many public health officials view vaccinating teens as crucial to further reducing virus transmission and reopening schools, so healthcare providers around the country are working to reach this population and their parents, The New York Times reported May 11.
Healthcare providers are working with school districts across the country to vaccinate teens, For example, Denver Health said it will expand the vaccination clinics it operates in six public schools to middle school students. "It’s been really successful because we are doing it in their communities, where the kids are familiar," Sonja O’Leary, MD, the medical director for Denver Health’s school-based health centers, told the Times.
Minneapolis-based Children's Minnesota is also planning to administer shots to teens at about a dozen middle schools and a YWCA center, beginning the second full week of May.
Connecticut primary care provider Community Health Center said it will reach teens by offering COVID-19 shots at places they already gather, such as beaches, camps and amusement parks.
Mysheika Roberts, MD, the health commissioner for Columbus, Ohio, told the Times the city is planning to drive a mobile vaccination clinic around neighborhoods "just like you would an ice cream truck."