Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine offered to W.Va. residents ages 12 to 15

Greg Jordan, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·3 min read

May 14—WELCH — Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was being offered Thursday to West Virginia and Virginia residents ages 12 to 15 as part of a push to get more people innoculated against the disease.

With the increase in vaccine supplies in West Virginia and FDA approval of Pfizer vaccine for children 12 to 15 year olds, vaccinations will be available to McDowell County students who are 12 and older, according to an announcement from McDowell County Schools.

New COVID-19 variants are already in McDowell County and have shown to be more infectious and transmittable. These new variants are leading to increased transmission rates and elevated virus spread amongst 10-to-30-year-olds, producing more adverse health effects than the original strain, school officials said in their announcement. The best mitigation against the variants of COVID 19 is getting as many individuals vaccinated as possible. The vaccines currently approved in the USA have proven effective to guard against the UK variant that is becoming more and more common in West Virginia.

The McDowell County Board of Education is working with the county health department to offer eligible students the Pfizer vaccine, according to Associate Superintendent Dr. Ingrida Barker, Ed.D.

"Yes, we are offering our vaccines at the schools and working with our school nurses and the health department to schedule the clinics once we have at least 10 students in a school signed up, so that we can open a vial and use all of the doses," Barker told the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.

How many McDowell County students will be receiving the vaccine had not been determined Thursday.

"At this point, I do not have the numbers for students signed up, since we have started promoting this information only (Wednesday)," Barker stated.

Across the county line, the Mercer County School system was making plans to offer the Pfizer vaccine, too. The school system sent out a survey to parents, and a number of them replied that they were interested in getting their children vaccinated, said Superintendent Dr. Deborah Akers.

"Our clinic will probably be next week or the latter part of the week," Akers said.

The Mercer County Health Department and the Princeton Rescue Squad offered first and second-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to all West Virginia residents 16 and older Thursday at the Karen Preservati Center at 704 Maple Street in Princeton.

Stacey Hicks, a member of the Mercer County Board of Health, said the Pfizer vaccine was being offered to younger residents, too.

"We're actually offering it to 12 and 15 year olds today as well for Pfizer," Hicks said. "So now we're doing 12 years and up, and all they have to do is just show up. No appointment is necessary. Their parent or guardian has to sign for them to get it. We need them to come in so we can get this thing behind us."

The vaccines are being offered to the same age groups today from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Karen Preservati Center with no appointments necessary. health officials said.

In Virginia, state-run community vaccination centers (CVCs) were scheduled to start offering Pfizer vaccine to residents 12 to 15 years old Thursday.

To schedule an appointment at these or other vaccination sites in Virginia, go to vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 877-VAX-IN-VA (877-829-4682). The call center hours will change on Monday, May 17, to 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays, Virginia health officials said.

At CVCs, adolescents must have the consent of a parent or legal guardian and be accompanied by a parent, guardian or someone acting in the place of a guardian to receive a vaccine. Additionally, sites run by the Virginia Department of Health require the parent or guardian verbally confirm a minor's date of birth; however, other providers may require additional proof of age.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com