Marin County hopes to inoculate 6,000 12-to-15-year-olds in a week's time, once the CDC authorizes the use of a COVID-19 vaccine for that age group.
That decision is expected to come this week. Pfizer has applied for emergency use authorization for its coronavirus vaccine for people aged 12-15.
Marin County Public Health Officer Dr. Matt Willis said it’s important that middle schoolers and high schoolers get vaccinated.
“It’s really critical that we recognize that it’s not only for the health of the community, it’s for the children themselves,” he told KCBS Radio. “We have, in the past, recognized that children are less susceptible to more severe illness, but in that age group, 12-15, they are as likely to become infected. We’re seeing more and more that increasing proportions of people who are being hospitalized, especially back east, are children.”
Willis said that if the CDC gives the go ahead this week, the county will spring into action, offering vaccines for teens quickly.
“It will be many of the same sites we’re using for our adults, but we’re also adding mobile vans going out to schools across the county,” he said. “We have 14 schools lined up over the next three weeks. The biggest push is next week. At some of the mass vaccination sites, what we can do is set aside 6,000 doses, and our hope is to get half of our 14,000 adolescents age 12-15 in Marin County vaccinated within one week.”
The hope is to get the other half vaccinated the following week, he said.
