The Food and Drug Administration has paved the way for middle school and many high school students to get the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine by granting emergency use authorization status Monday.
Leading up to that announcement, Pfizer said its vaccine was safe and 100 percent effective for children in that age group, following 95-percent effectiveness for adult clinical trials.
Pfizer was already authorized for vaccinations among children between ages 16 and 17, the lowest age group allowed. Other vaccine providers, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, have not sought emergency use authorization yet to push their vaccination ages below 18.
How this translates to local vaccinations has not been announced. Lyon County Public Health just had three off-site vaccination clinics last week involving trips to Emporia High, Olpe and Northern Heights. Less than 200 people took advantage of the primary-dose Pfizer shots.
