Now that all states have extended eligibility for Covid-19 vaccines to anyone 16 and older, older teens are lining up for photos – often with the help of high schools.
Taking pictures in the arms of 16- and 17-year-olds is “essential,” said Tifini Ray, project manager for school health services at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
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This is partly due to the fact that the number of pediatric cases of Covid-19 is growing in the US The American Academy of Pediatrics said that about 88,500 new cases in children were reported last week – a 5% increase over previous weeks .
“Childhood cases really reflect what is happening in the surrounding community,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Children’s Hospital Colorado. Indeed, the seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases is generally slightly higher than the previous week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although it is true that young people tend to have milder symptoms of Covid-19 than older adults, children and adolescents can spread the coronavirus to older and more vulnerable groups. And they can get quite sick and even die.
O’Leary, who is also vice chair of the Infectious Diseases Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said vaccinating children can help keep schools safe. “Although school enrollment is low, it is not zero,” he said.
Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont on Monday opened the eligibility of all those over the age of 16 – the last states to meet President Joe Biden’s goal of opening eligibility by April 19th.
So far, only a small percentage of 16- and 17-year-olds have managed to take photos. CDC data indicate that less than 1 percent of those older teens have been completely vaccinated.
It can be difficult for many parents – especially working parents – to find time to schedule vaccinations for older teens and then leave work to take their children to both meetings. Only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved for use in people up to 16 years of age. It is given in two doses, three weeks apart. (Photos from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are licensed for adults over the age of 18.)
This is where communities come in to help vaccines reach the children where they spend the most time: at school. Nationwide Children’s has hosted vaccination clinics in high schools in Franklin County, Ohio, which remains at the highest alert level in the state for the risk of exposure and spread of Covid-19.
Ray expects her Nationwide Children’s team to give at least a first dose to nearly 7,000 teenagers in the Columbus area in the coming days.
“Our schools are still in session, especially in person,” Ray said. “It’s much easier for us to reach them in large numbers while we have them in one location.”
High schools elsewhere also open vaccination clinics for qualifying teens.
“We need to protect them from spreading the disease to those who may be more vulnerable to the disease and its complications,” said Dr. Tamara Sheffield, medical director of the Salt Lake Intermountain Healthcare Community Health and Prevention Initiative. City, told NBC affiliate KSL.
At least two Salt Lake City districts have opened vaccination clinics in schools. Other states follow suit. This week, the Connecticut Waterbury Public School District offered hundreds of meetings for 16- and 17-year-olds.
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One of them was Michael Albino. “It was very difficult to schedule one, so I’m really glad I finally managed to do it and finish it,” Albino, a high school student, told NBC Connecticut.
Pfizer has applied to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use of its vaccine in children between the ages of 12 and 15. A decision could come in the next few weeks.
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