MA Ready To Vaccinate 12-Year-Olds Starting Thursday

MASSACHUSETTS — The state will begin vaccinating 12- to 15-year-old children on Thursday after the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine got the final go-ahead from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gov. Charlie Baker said during his Wednesday news conference that parents could pre-register children in that age group for an appointment at any time and shots will be administered as soon as allowed through appointments and walk-up vaccinations where available.

"We're working with our providers, and our mass vaccination sites, and others, to put plans in place to vaccinate this group once we receive word of a final approval," Baker said. "The Department of Public Health has already reached out to the primary care community and to the pediatric care community in order to discuss with them a process for ensuring they are part of a process of administering the Pfizer vaccine throughout their practices once the vaccine is approved for this age group."'

A CDC advisory panel approved the emergency authorization use of the vaccine for all teens 14-0 with one abstention Wednesday afternoon — sending the authorization to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, who signed off on the final OK early Wednesday night.

"Though most children with COVID-19 have mild or no symptoms, some children can get severely ill and require hospitalization," Walensky said in a statement. "There have also been rare, tragic cases of children dying from COVID-19 and its effects, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.

"Getting adolescents vaccinated means their faster return to social activities and can provide parents and caregivers peace of mind knowing their family is protected."

The age group represents about 400,000 state residents.

"If parents have questions about the vaccines for their kids they should contact their primary care provider, or their pediatrician, for more information," Baker said.

Baker said there are currently no statewide plans to make vaccinations mandatory for students to return to school next year. Needham Public Schools said on Wednesday that it will make vaccinations required for students in that district.

"What we really want to do is make sure we get as many people who are eligible to get vaccinated to get vaccinated and get them vaccinated in a way that's convenient and acceptable to everybody," Baker said.

The process for child vaccinations is expected to be very similar to the adult vaccination process in recent weeks when supply has allowed for same-day and walk-in appointments — with more participation from the primary care and pediatric care providers.

"In many cases, they have tighter relationships with a lot of the kids we're talking about," Baker said.

Nearly 74 percent of all state residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine. The state passed 3 million fully vaccinated residents on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the state reported no coronavirus-related deaths for the first time since June 30 and a statewide positive test rate of 1.32 percent.

Baker said the state also plans to soon launch an employer vaccination program, which will allow businesses to book group appointment blocks for employees at mass vaccination sites as well as request mobile vaccination units to come to their business site at a scheduled time.

"The program is intended to provide two great options for employers of all sizes," Baker said, "and is another way we are looking to build out vaccine administration to get more people dosed safely and conveniently."

He said the state remains on track to reach its goal of fully vaccinating 4.1 million residents by early in June. There are additional business restrictions scheduled to be lifted on May 29 with all business restrictions set to expire on Aug. 1, if not sooner.

Baker reiterated that moving up the Aug. 1 date will be tied to keeping coronavirus numbers lower and increasing vaccinations.

"We will be back to you on that one," Baker said. "We were very worried because many of the governors we talked to, and a bunch of the health and human service secretaries that Secretary Marylou Sudders talked to said that demand just stopped (when all restrictions ended). Just fell off the table. Ours have gotten a little sluggish, but they have not fallen off the table.

"I expect a lot of those open slots will get picked up by 12- to 15-year-olds. ... The fastest way back to reopening is continuing to get people vaccinated."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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