Status of Pfizer vaccine for adolescents

The Mobile County Health Department (MCHD) is committed to protecting our community. It will begin offering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents 12 through 15 years of age as soon as possible.

On Monday, May 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age. On Wednesday, May 12, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will conduct a public meeting to review all available data and vote on whether to recommend expanding the age range.

ACIP recommendations are reviewed by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If adopted, they are published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). MCHD expects this publication by Friday, May 14.

Once official, the Alabama Department of Public Health is expected to concur. At that point, MCHD can begin offering Pfizer vaccine to adolescents 12 through 15 years of age following guidelines published in the MMWR.

This link provides an overview of the process and current COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/vacc-specific/covid-19.html.

For updates, please follow www.MCHDcares.com and our social media channels (IloveMCHD).