Category: Covid-19 Vaccine

MADISON (WKOW) -- Hospitals are working to get younger teens vaccinated against COVID-19.

University Health Services opened up vaccinations for children ages 12 and older Monday, days after the CDC recommended the Pfizer vaccine for the age group.

You do not need to be affiliated with the university to get vaccinated on the University of WisconsinMadison campus.

"We're hoping that not only people associated with UW-Madison, but other members of the community may be able to take advantage of this opportunity and perhaps even bring the entire family, and all the individuals 12 and older will be able to get their vaccine in this one spot," said University Health Services Primary Care Physician Megan Crass.

Campus vaccination is currently performed at the Nicholas Recreation Center Monday through Friday between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, closed between noon and 1 for lunch.

Vaccinations are available by appointment or on a drop-in basis, but appointments are recommended to guarantee the vaccine you want. UHS offers all three authorized vaccines Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen/Johnson and Johnson but only Pfizer is available to people 12-to-17-years-old.

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University Health Services expands COVID-19 vaccinations to ages 12 and older - WKOW

Citing early success with COVID-19 vaccine pop-up sites at subway and train stations around the city, the state announced three new hubs would open on Tuesday. Four of the initial eight locations in the pilot program would also continue to deliver shots.

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the extension after 5,701 people got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine during the opening wave of the program, which ran from last Wednesday to Sunday at subway, Metro-North, and Long Island Rail Road stations. Preliminary data listed by New York Citys health department shows that 13,400 total doses of Johnson & Johnson were administered over this timeframe, meaning the subway program accounted for nearly half of these shots.

The pop-up efforts will continue at the most popular hubs so far: Penn Station and Grand Central in Manhattan, East 180th Street in the Bronx, and Broadway Junction in Brooklyn. Those sites accounted for a total of 3,497 doses between May 12th and May 15th, the state said in a press release.

According to the governor, the three expanded sites will be located at 125th Street in Harlem, Sutphin Boulevard/Archer Avenue in Queens and the Long Island Rail Roads Hicksville stop.

Citing their success, these four sites will continue to have vaccines through Saturday. Governor Andrew Cuomo's Office

Three new sites open Tuesday. Governor Andrew Cuomo's Office

The MTAs pilot made up about 10% of all the citys vaccinationsfirst doses and second doseson its opening day, with tourists and young New Yorkers lining up for the shots. City officials are working on getting young city residents vaccinated as sign-ups for appointments have waned.

People who get vaccinated receive a free seven-day MetroCard or round-trip tickets for the LIRR or Metro-North.

We will have the vaccines in the station, Cuomo said Monday during a press briefing in Manhattan. This works, and were going to find more creative ways to get people to take vaccines.

Below are the hours for each vaccination station:

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MTA To Expand COVID-19 Vaccine Program To New Subway Stations, Citing Early Success - Gothamist

Tulsa Transit is partnering with the Health Department to encourage more Tulsans to get vaccinated.

The program gives free rides to people who use the bus to get their first and second doses. This new partnership with Tulsa Transit and the health department not only gives more access to the vaccine, it doesnt cost taxpayers a dime.

"Now that weve opened up to 12 to15-year-old population, we are seeing a large increase in the number of individuals wanting the vaccines,"Alicia Etgen, THD Manager of Emergency Preparedness and Response Program, told News On 6.

Etgen says some people can't get their shot because they simply can't find a ride. "We've identified certain ZIP codes that Tulsa transit and their bus system could be a great way to reach individuals that haven't gotten their vaccine due to transportation issues," Etgen explained.

To solve that problem, Tulsa Transit is offering free rides. The program will include three department of health locations and five existing bus routes to get to those areas.

Etgen says individuals will have to pay for your first bus trip to the vaccine site. Once they get your 1st shot, you just show your receipt and get this pass at the exit. It's good for 10 free rides and one 24-hour pass.

Syreeta Burrell is with the Tulsa Dream Center, and she says she knows many families who would benefit from the program.

"They dont have a ride, so if youre going to bridge the gap and get them there, I think youll get a lot of results from this program," Burrel said, "Theyre pretty excited to know that theyre not only have a pass for one visit but they have a way to get back there for their second follow up as well."

Etgen says they hope this program pushes the momentum to get back to normal.

"Our goal is to get as many shots and as many arms as we possibly can," Etgen added.

The program is offered at the following clinics: Tulsa Health Department North Regional Health and Wellness Center, Tulsa Health Department Central Regional Health Center and Community Vaccination Center at Tulsa Community College Northeast Campus. You can find more information about the program here.

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Tulsa Transit, THD Partnering To Encourage Tulsans To Get COVID-19 Vaccine - News On 6

The New York Times

JERUSALEM Twenty-seven days before the first rocket was fired from Gaza this week, a squad of Israeli police officers entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, brushed the Palestinian attendants aside and strode across its vast limestone courtyard. Then they cut the cables to the loudspeakers that broadcast prayers to the faithful from four medieval minarets. It was the night of April 13, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It was also Memorial Day in Israel, which honors those who died fighting for the country. The Israeli president was delivering a speech at the Western Wall, a sacred Jewish site that lies below the mosque, and Israeli officials were concerned that the prayers would drown it out. The incident was confirmed by six mosque officials, three of whom witnessed it; Israeli police declined to comment. In the outside world, it barely registered. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times But in hindsight, the police raid on the mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam, was one of several actions that led, less than a month later, to the sudden resumption of war between Israel and Hamas, the militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, and the outbreak of civil unrest between Arabs and Jews across Israel itself. This was the turning point, said Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, the grand mufti of Jerusalem. Their actions would cause the situation to deteriorate. That deterioration has been far more devastating, far-reaching and fast-paced than anyone imagined. It has led to the worst violence between Israelis and Palestinians in years not only in the conflict with Hamas, which has killed at least 145 people in Gaza and 12 in Israel, but in a wave of mob attacks in mixed Arab-Jewish cities in Israel. It has spawned unrest in cities across the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians on Friday. And it has resulted in the firing of rockets toward Israel from a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, prompted Jordanians to march toward Israel in protest, and led Lebanese protesters to briefly cross their southern border with Israel. The crisis came as the Israeli government was struggling for its survival; as Hamas which Israel views as a terrorist group was seeking to expand its role within the Palestinian movement; and as a new generation of Palestinians was asserting its own values and goals. And it was the outgrowth of years of blockades and restrictions in Gaza, decades of occupation in the West Bank, and decades more of discrimination against Arabs within the state of Israel, said Avraham Burg, a former speaker of the Israeli parliament and former chair of the World Zionist Organization. All the enriched uranium was already in place, he said. But you needed a trigger. And the trigger was the Aqsa Mosque. It had been seven years since the last significant conflict with Hamas, and 16 since the last major Palestinian uprising, or intifada. There was no major unrest in Jerusalem when then-President Donald Trump recognized the city as Israels capital and nominally moved the U.S. Embassy there. There were no mass protests after four Arab countries normalized relations with Israel, abandoning a long-held consensus that they would never do so until the Palestinian-Israeli conflict had been resolved. Two months ago, few in the Israeli military establishment were expecting anything like this. In private briefings, military officials said the biggest threat to Israel was 1,000 miles away in Iran, or across the northern border in Lebanon. When diplomats met in March with the two generals who oversee administrative aspects of Israeli military affairs in Gaza and the West Bank, they found the pair relaxed about the possibility of significant violence and celebrating an extended period of relative quiet, according to a senior foreign diplomat who asked to remain anonymous in order to speak freely. Gaza was struggling to overcome a wave of coronavirus infections. Most major Palestinian political factions, including Hamas, were looking toward Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for March, the first in 15 years. And in Gaza, where the Israeli blockade has contributed to an unemployment rate of about 50%, Hamas popularity was dwindling as Palestinians spoke increasingly of the need to prioritize the economy over war. The mood began to shift in April. The prayers at Al-Aqsa for the first night of Ramadan on April 13 occurred as the Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, was making his speech nearby. The mosque leadership, which is overseen by the Jordanian government, had rejected an Israeli request to avoid broadcasting prayers during the speech, viewing the request as disrespectful, a public affairs officer at the mosque said. So that night, the police raided the mosque and disconnected the speakers. Without a doubt, said Sabri, it was clear to us that the Israeli police wanted to desecrate the Aqsa Mosque and the holy month of Ramadan. A spokesman for the president denied that the speakers had been turned off, but later said they would double-check. In another year, the episode might have been quickly forgotten. But last month, several factors suddenly and unexpectedly aligned that allowed this slight to snowball into a major showdown. A resurgent sense of national identity among young Palestinians found expression not only in resistance to a series of raids on Al-Aqsa, but also in protesting the plight of six Palestinian families facing expulsion from their homes. The perceived need to placate an increasingly assertive far right gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel little incentive to calm the waters. A sudden Palestinian political vacuum, and a grassroots protest that it could adopt, gave Hamas an opportunity to flex its muscles. These shifts in the Palestinian dynamics caught Israel unawares. Israelis had been complacent, nurtured by more than a decade of far-right governments that treated Palestinian demands for equality and statehood as a problem to be contained, not resolved. We have to wake up, said Ami Ayalon, a former director of the Israeli domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet. We have to change the way we understand all this, starting with the concept that the status quo is stable. The loudspeaker incident was followed almost immediately by a police decision to close off a popular plaza outside the Damascus Gate, one of the main entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem. Young Palestinians typically gather there at night during Ramadan. A police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said the plaza was closed to prevent dangerously large crowds from forming there, and to head off the possibility of violence. To Palestinians, it was another insult. It led to protests, which led to nightly clashes between the police and young men trying to reclaim the space. To the police, the protests were disorder to be controlled. But to many Palestinians, being pushed out of the square was a slight, beneath which were much deeper grievances. Most Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and later annexed, are not Israeli citizens by choice, because many say applying for citizenship would confer legitimacy on an occupying power. So they cannot vote. Many feel they are gradually being pushed out of Jerusalem. Restrictions on building permits force them to either leave the city or build illegal housing, which is vulnerable to demolition orders. So the decision to block Palestinians from a treasured communal space compounded the sense of discrimination that many have felt all their lives. It made it feel as though they were trying to eliminate our presence from the city, said Majed al-Qeimari, a 27-year-old butcher from East Jerusalem. We felt the need to stand up in their faces and make a point that we are here. The clashes at the Damascus Gate had repercussions. Later that week, Palestinian youths began attacking Jews. Some posted videos on TikTok, a social media site, garnering public attention. And that soon led to organized Jewish reprisals. On April 21, just a week after the police raid, a few hundred members of an extreme-right Jewish group, Lehava, marched through central Jerusalem, chanting Death to Arabs and attacking Palestinian passersby. A group of Jews was filmed attacking a Palestinian home, and others assaulted drivers who were perceived to be Palestinian. Foreign diplomats and community leaders tried to persuade the Israeli government to lower the temperature in Jerusalem, at least by reopening the square outside Damascus Gate. But they found the government distracted and uninterested, said a person involved in the discussions, who was not authorized to speak publicly. Netanyahu was in the middle of coalition negotiations after an election in March the fourth in two years that ended without a clear winner. To form a coalition, he needed to persuade several extreme-right lawmakers to join him. One was Itamar Ben Gvir, a former lawyer for Lehava who advocates expelling Arab citizens whom he considers disloyal to Israel, and who until recently hung a portrait of Baruch Goldstein, a Jewish extremist who massacred 29 Palestinians in Hebron in 1994, in his living room. Netanyahu was accused of pandering to the likes of Ben Gvir, and fomenting a crisis to rally Israelis around his leadership, by letting tensions rise in Jerusalem. Netanyahu didnt invent the tensions between Jews and Arabs, said Anshel Pfeffer, a political commentator and biographer of the prime minister. Theyve been here since before Israel was founded. But over his long years in power, hes stoked and exploited these tensions for political gain time and again and has now miserably failed as a leader to put out the fires when it boiled over. Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Netanyahu, rejected that analysis. Exactly the opposite is true, Regev said. He has done everything he can to try to make calm prevail. On April 25, the government relented on allowing Palestinians to gather outside the Damascus Gate. But then came a brace of developments that significantly widened the gyre. First was the looming eviction of the six families from Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. With a final court decision on their case due in the first half of May, regular protests were held throughout April demonstrations that accelerated after Palestinians drew a connection between the events at Damascus Gate and the plight of the residents. What you see now at Sheikh Jarrah or at Al-Aqsa or at Damascus Gate is about pushing us out of Jerusalem, said Salah Diab, a community leader in Sheikh Jarrah, whose leg was broken during a recent police raid on his house. My neighborhood is just the beginning. Police said they were responding to violence by demonstrators in Sheikh Jarrah, but video and images showed they engaged in violence themselves. As the images began to circulate online, the neighborhood turned into a rallying point for Palestinians not just across the occupied territories and Israel, but among the diaspora. The experience of the families, who had already been displaced from what became Israel in 1948, was something every single Palestinian in the diaspora can relate to, said Jehan Bseiso, a Palestinian poet living in Lebanon. And it highlighted a piece of legal discrimination: Israeli law allows Jews to reclaim land in East Jerusalem that was owned by Jews before 1948. But the descendants of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled their homes that year have no legal means to reclaim their families land. Theres something really triggering and cyclical about seeing people being removed from their homes all over again, Bseiso said. Its very triggering and very, very relatable, even if youre a million miles away. On April 29, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority canceled the Palestinian elections, fearing a humiliating result. The decision made Abbas look weak. Hamas saw an opportunity, and began to reposition itself as a militant defender of Jerusalem. Hamas thought that by doing so, they were showing that they were a more capable leadership for the Palestinians, said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political expert at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City. On May 4, six days before the war began, the head of the Hamas military, Muhammed Deif, issued a rare public statement. This is our final warning, Deif said. If the aggression against our people in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood does not stop immediately, we will not stand idly by. War nevertheless seemed unlikely. But then came the most dramatic escalation of all: a police raid on the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, May 7. Police officers armed with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber-tipped bullets burst into the mosque compound shortly after 8 p.m., setting off hours of clashes with stone-throwing protesters in which hundreds were injured, medics said. Police said the stone throwers started it; several worshippers said the opposite. Whoever struck first, the sight of stun grenades and bullets inside the prayer hall of one of the holiest sites in Islam on the last Friday of Ramadan, one of its holiest nights was seen as a grievous insult to all Muslims. This is about the Judaization of the city of Jerusalem, Sheikh Omar al-Kisswani, another leader at the mosque, said in an interview hours after the raid. Its about deterring people from going to Al-Aqsa. That set the stage for a dramatic showdown on Monday, May 10. A final court hearing on Sheikh Jarrah was set to coincide with Jerusalem Day, when Jews celebrate the reunification of Jerusalem by dint of the capture of East Jerusalem in 1967. Jewish nationalists typically mark the day by marching through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City and trying to visit Temple Mount, the site on which the Al-Aqsa Mosque is built. The looming combination of that march, tensions over Al-Aqsa and the possibility of an eviction order in Sheikh Jarrah seemed to be building toward something dangerous. The Israeli government scrambled to tamp down tensions. The Supreme Court hearing in the eviction case was postponed. An order barred Jews from entering the mosque compound. But police raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque again, early on Monday morning, after Palestinians stockpiled stones in anticipation of clashes with police and far-right Jews. For the second time in three days, stun grenades and rubber-tipped bullets were fired across the compound, in scenes that were broadcast across the world. At the last minute, the government rerouted the Jerusalem Day march away from the Muslim Quarter, after receiving an intelligence briefing about the risk of escalation if it went ahead. But that was too little, and far too late. By then, the Israeli army had already begun to order civilians away from the Gaza perimeter. Shortly after 6 p.m. on Monday, the rocket fire from Gaza began. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. 2021 The New York Times Company

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McDonalds, Shake Shack and others give the COVID-19 vaccine push a shot in the arm - Yahoo Finance

SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WKRG) Prodisee Pantry in Spanish Fort is hosting a COVID-19 vaccination clinic this week in Baldwin County. The organization is partnering with the Alabama National Guard and the Alabama Department of Public Health this Tuesday for a first dose Moderna shot.

The clinic is for anyone 18 years old and over.

The vaccines will be administered between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., or until the last dose is given. The second dose will be given on June 15th. No appointment is needed.

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COVID-19 vaccination clinic being held Tuesday in Spanish Fort - WKRG News 5

FRANKFORT, Ky.

Overall, 54% of all Kentucky adults and 80% of Kentuckians 65 and older now have at least their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, said Beshear. And for more good news, Kentuckians as young as 12 have started getting their shots of hope.

On May 28, all indoor and outdoor events of any size and businesses of any capacitycan increaseto 75% capacity.

Just two weeks later, the states emerging economy is set for liftoff as final capacity restrictions related to COVID-19end June 11. The same day, the state will alsoeliminate the mask mandatefor all Kentuckians with the exceptions of places where people are the most vulnerable.

Beshear said the proven effectiveness of vaccinations and expanded vaccine eligibility to include 12- to 15-year-oldsis allowing the commonwealth to safely and sustainably ease restrictions.

Case InformationAs of 4 p.m. Monday, May 17, Gov. Beshear reported the following COVID-19 numbers:

People vaccinated in Kentucky (have received at least one dose): 1,927,168

New cases today: 285Positivity rate: 2.78%

For more information on cases and hospital capacity, see thefull daily COVID-19 report. To see a list of those reported lost to the virus today, clickhere.

The top five counties by percent of residents vaccinated are: Woodford (57%), Franklin (56%), Fayette (54%), Scott (48%) and Campbell (47%).

The bottom five counties by percent of residents vaccinated are: Christian (18%), Spencer (18%), Ballard (20%), McCreary (21%) and Lewis (21%).

To see all vaccination sites and free transportation options to and from vaccination appointments, visitvaccine.ky.gov. To see a list of vaccination sites that have openings this week, visitvaccinemap.ky.gov. If Kentuckians have questions, they should call the states COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline,855-598-2246or TTY855-326-4654(for deaf or hard-of-hearing Kentuckians).

For detailed information on COVID-19 vaccinations and more, visitkycovid19.ky.gov.

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Gov. Beshear: 1,927,168 people have received at least their first COVID-19 vaccine dose in Kentucky - wnky.com

(THE CONVERSATION) With the first COVID-19 vaccine nowauthorized for adolescents, ages 12 and up, a big question looms: Will students be required to get the vaccine before returning to their classrooms in the fall? As aprofessor of education policy and lawand a former attorney for school districts, I regularly think about this sort of question.

In the United States,school vaccination requirements are established by statesrather than the federal government. The10th Amendmentto the U.S. Constitution allows states to make regulations protectingpublic health.

Every state currently requires K-12 students to be vaccinated against some diseases, although the requirements includingwhich shotsare deemed necessary and thereasons students can opt-out vary from one state to another.

Who can opt out of school shots?

No state yet requires students to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, but how states manage other vaccines and exemptions, and how the rules can change during outbreaks, can help us think about how a COVID-19 vaccine requirement might work. For example, students in all states can be exempt from vaccination requirements if they have a validmedical reason, such as a weakened immune system or allergic reaction to a vaccine.

In44 states, students also can opt-out of vaccination requirements forreligious reasons, thoughmost major religions do not prohibit vaccines. Some statesare considering rescinding religious exemptionsbecause of concern about declining levels of vaccinations and local outbreaks of diseases such as measles.Connecticutrescinded its religious exemption in April 2021.

Fifteen statespermit philosophical exemptions based on moral or ethical concerns. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,only about 2.5%of U.S. kindergartners used an exemption last year, the same as the previous year, and most were for religious or philosophical reasons.

Of particular importance right now is thatstates also take different approaches to exemptions during an outbreak. Thirty-two states ban unvaccinated students from attending school during an outbreak. A handful of states do not allow vaccine exemptions during an outbreak.

What the courts say about mandatory vaccines

The U.S. Supreme Court has supported states authority to make these decisions for over a century.

In May 1901,a smallpox epidemic began in Boston. Now-familiar disease prevention measures were put into place: Sick patients were quarantined for treatment, and the city began a free, voluntary vaccination program. By December of that same year, the city had not contained the epidemic, so a local health commission required all adult residents to be vaccinated under the authority granted by the state.

The local government fined those who refused to be vaccinated, and one man disputed this fine by suing the state of Massachusetts. In 1905, the Supreme Court heard his case and held that a state can require vaccination in theinterest of public health. Today, somehealth law expertsthink vaccination requirements are important enough that they can stilltrump claims including individual religious liberty, while others aremore skeptical.

The COVID-19 vaccines have one key difference theyhave only emergency use authorizationat this point, not full FDA approval. TheFDAs emergency use statutesays people receiving the drug must be informed of the option to accept or refuse administration of the product but also of the consequences, if any, of refusing. How a lack of full approval would affect state decisions about school vaccine mandates and how the courts might view those decisions remains to be seen.

In another context, military service members can be required to receive vaccines but areallowed under federal law to opt-out of vaccines that have only emergency use authorization, unless thepresident waivesthat provision.

Pfizer the drugmaker whose vaccine received emergency use authorization for adolescents on May 10, 2021, and wasrecommended for that age range by the CDCon May 12 hasstarted the review process for full FDA approvalfor use in ages 16 and older. The same review for adolescentswill start later. Vaccine testing is still underway for younger children.

Can individual schools issue their own requirements?

Because states enact vaccine requirements to protect public health, school vaccine requirements generally apply topublic and private K-12 schools, and also to daycare facilities. Only a handful ofstates require college and university students to be vaccinated, so in practice, determining and enforcing vaccine requirements is usually up to individual higher education institutions.

Agrowing number of colleges and universitieshave announced that they will require all students who plan to be on campus to receive the COVID vaccine. Other institutions are requiring the vaccine only for studentswho want to live in dorms. However,at least one state legislatureMichigans is considering barring state universities from requiring vaccines as a condition of taking in-person classes, contending a vaccine requirement would infringe on matters of individual choice.

This raises the interesting question of whether an individual school district, like an individual college or university, could require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

When school vaccine requirements began in the late 19th century, the goal was to prevent the spread of smallpox.By 1915, 15 states and Washington, D.C., required students to receive the smallpox vaccine, and21 other statesallowed local governments such as school districts and county health departments to impose such a requirement.

School vaccinationrequirements have proliferatedover the past century, in response to both specific outbreaks and the growing acceptance of vaccine mandates as public health policy. Although most vaccination requirements have been issued at the state level in recent decades, whether school districts can add to the list of required vaccines remains an open question, and may vary by state.

It is also a question that courts will likely soon engage. In January 2021, theLos Angeles Unified School Districtannounced that it plans to require its students to receive the COVID vaccine once a vaccine is approved and available. Los Angeles Unified is the nations largest school district. As fall nears and assuming clinical trials continue to demonstrate both efficacy and safety we may see more districts pursue this option.

This article was updated with the CDCs endorsement.

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Can schools require COVID-19 vaccines for students now that Pfizers shot is authorized for kids 12 and up? - KRQE News 13

When teenagers were given the green light to start getting the COVID-19 vaccine, JackKoksal was one of the first in line.

This wasn't really a surprise Koksal's mother, Beth, works for a public health coalition in Garden City.

But Koksal didn't need any urging from his parents in order to be convinced to get the vaccine.

"It's an easy call for me to get the vaccine because, why not? Why wouldn't I?" Koksal said. "Why wouldn't I get it if I can help prevent the spread, you know, especially when I have a lot of people in my life that are vulnerable."

Now that he's been vaccinated, Koksal has become the de facto expert for his friends and classmateson what to expect if they get the shots.

"There's a couple kids who are way for it and there's a couple kids who are way against it," he said. "Most everyone else lies in the'maybe I'll get it.' It is just whatever floats their boat."

Soon, more Kansas youths will be able to follow Koksal's path if it floats their boat.

Wednesday a panel of advisers for the Centers for Disease Control gave their formal recommendation to administer the Pfizer vaccine to those ages 12 to 15 years.

More: Kansas to open Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to residents 12 and older

Kansas announced hours later they would follow suit for the 160,000 youths in that age group, with some counties already distributing doses.

But the announcement will prompt a new set of considerations for parents and teenagers. The ability to have a more normal school experience sits in the distance as a carrot for hesitant families.

"These are children, and really, we don't want them to ever get sick," said Gretchen Homan, a Wichita pediatrician and president-elect of the Kansas chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "If we can help, we'dprotect them from everything. And we definitely don't want them to get COVID."

The news has been welcomed by public health officials in the state, as Kansas has seen its vaccination rate slow in recent weeks.

"Currently, we'realmost at a standstill as far as ourdemand," said Julie Gibbs, administrator of the Riley County Health Department."We've met our demand.Now we're just having a few people that are signing up and trickling in."

The hope is the expanded eligibility will give the state a boost in its quest for herd immunity, which experts peg as requiring upwardof 80% of the population be vaccinated.

But, much as the state has struggled with vaccine hesitancy for adults, it will likely also have to counter uncertainty from parents many of whom haven't gotten the shots themselves.

Data from the Kaiser Family Foundation bears this out.

Only threeout of every 10 parents said they would seek out a COVID-19 vaccine for their child as soon as it is available. A quarter of parents said they weren't going to seek out the shots for their child and an additional 25% said they were taking a wait-and-see approach.

More: Vaccination rate slows, is blamed for COVID-19 clusters at nursing homes

Concerns from parents, Homan said, largely center on whether the vaccine is safe and what potential side effects could pop up.

She underscored, however, the safety and effectiveness of the shots.

A study conducted on the Pfizer vaccine among 2,260 adolescents 12 to 15 found the shots were 100% protective against symptomatic disease and that they actually prompted a more effective antibody response among teens than adults.

Homan noted guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics will allow the COVID-19 vaccine to be administered alongside routine childhood immunizations.

Pediatricians, meanwhile, are reaching out to families to bring them back to the fold after a year in which many may have skipped their annual checkups. A federal report shows a drop-off in preventative care for children, including a 22% drop off in routinevaccinations.

"If you haven't been in in a while it's OK," Homan said."Call and set up an appointment and plan to get caught up on things because now we have time. It's the summer, and this is a great time to do it."

More: Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask in most settings. Here's where you do in Shawnee County.

In Riley County, Gibbs was optimistic about vaccine uptake.

A survey conducted in partnership with the local school district found 64% of parents with children ages 12 to 18 years were interested in having their child get the vaccine.

That feeds into a vaccination clinic the county is conducting next week targeted at young people. Officials hope the prospect of getting youths and teens vaccinated will be a way of enticing family members who may have been holding out.

"We're hoping that that kind of opens the gateway," Gibbs said.

Other parts of the state are taking similar tactics to begin targeting a younger population.

About 233 students at Seaman High School in Topeka have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine and a collaborative mobile clinic with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Shawnee County Health Department last week vaccinated just under 50 students.

KDHE is expected to continue with similar events statewide.

More clinics are scheduled over the summer targeting middle schoolers, now that that is an option,Seaman Unified School District 345 superintendent Steve Noble said at a board meeting earlier this week.

More: No masks, unrestricted play time and school visitors? Seaman superintendent paints picture of 'normal' fall

"We have seen how quickly things can change, but with the vaccinations rising, were hopeful next school year can look more like a normal school year for our kids, our families and our staff," he said.

A turn toward"normal" could include allowing families to choose if students wear masks at school, letting students mix on the playground and inside classrooms and lifting visitor restrictions and gathering limits.

Vaccinated students would also be exempted from quarantine requirements something that is particularly enticing, especially for student-athletes who have risked sitting out games if they were exposed to COVID-19.

But while this might be an effective motivation in parts of the state where schooling has been done remotely or with significant mitigation practices, many districts in Kansashave already dropped their restrictions.

In Garden City, for instance, Jack Koksal noted that masks haven't been required for some time.

"Even though we're kind of a big town, it still has a small town feel," he said."Andwe feel pretty isolated out here. So I feel like things have started already going back to normal without even talks of ... everyone in school getting vaccinated."

More: While COVID-19 cases drop in Kansas, variants continue to spread

Providers must counter teen ambivalence

Logistics for mass clinics targeted at teensare slightly more complicated than a normal mass vaccination event.

Parental consent is needed if a student is under 18 and most providers will call a parent or guardian to verify they are in fact comfortable with their child getting immunized.

Reports of turnout havebeen mixed, according to Dennis Kriesel, executive director of the Kansas Association of Local Health Departments.

But that is in part because April and May are some of the busiest months in the school calendar, as students juggle the end of the academic year, plus sports, social events and college admissions decisions.

In Garden City, Beth Koksal, director of community health for Livewell Finney County,said the vaccination efforts have been targeted at certain neighborhoods, particularly those that are mixed-income, to cover as wide of a swath of the population as possible.

But she added that providers recently learned an important lesson: When it comes down to prom or getting a COVID-19 vaccination, teens are going to chose boutonnieres and fancy dresses over potential side effects.

And many young people are ambivalent about getting the shots in the first place, believing they aren't at risk for COVID-19.

"It's not that they've bought into misinformation or they just have generalized concerns about a new vaccine that came to market so quickly," Kriesel said. "It's just more of a 'Why bother? Because I'm not going to get sick anyway' or 'I might get COVID. But I won't be sick. Like, I'll feel fine. So who cares?'"

Still, 8% of all cases in the state have occurred in those ages 10 to 17 years. Nationally,at least 490 people 17 years and younger have died from COVID-19 in the United States, according to CDC data.

"Maybe they're not as astounding as the numbers for adults, but that's significant," Homan said."And as a pediatrician and a mom, that's not OK with me. If we can prevent all of those, that's what we need to do."

In some cases, however, youths are the one driving the push to get vaccinated.

"I had a conversation with a pediatrician this morning," Beth Koksal said. "And he was telling me that a lot of his adolescent patients aretelling their parents, who might be a little hesitant, 'Hey, this is something I want to do.'"

That was the case for Karla Hagemeister and her 12-year-old daughter Emily.

Hagemeister, who is the president of the Manhattan-Ogden Unified School District 383 school board, got vaccinated. So did her husband and 18-year-old son.

That left Emily as the lone member of the family who wasn't vaccinated. Hagemeister classified her daughter as an "independent thinker" who would make her voice heard in the process.

But there still was some deliberation in car rides to school over what the best course of action will be, with Emily also discussing the topic with her friends at school. She eventually decided to get vaccinated at Riley County's clinic next week.

"Kids, maybe we don't give them enough credit, because they talk about this kind of stuff," Hagemeister said.

Hagemeister outlined the process in a Facebook post and received questions from friends who had questions and hesitancy about letting their child get vaccinated.

The decision for her family was relatively straightforward, as it will allow them to spend more time with extended family and even take a vacation to Colorado without quarantining.

But Hagemeister said she has fielded questions from hesitant friends a position she understands.

"There's almost a risk assessment that you make for yourself as an adult or as a parent," she said. "And then there's this hyper-risk assessment that you make when you're talking about your kids. And so I think parents, understandably, want to be sure what they're doing is going to be good for their for their kid."

The Capital-Journal's Rafael Garcia contributed to this report.

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Across Kansas, officials want youths 12 years and older to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Will they? - The Topeka Capital-Journal

California has achieved a milestone in its five-month-long vaccination campaign: More than 50% of residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis.

Today, roughly 19.6 million Californians have received at least one injection. Overall, about 38% of California residents are fully vaccinated, meaning they have received either both shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

After an initially slow rollout, California has gained steady ground when it comes to administering vaccinations. California ranks 12th among all states in the nation for having the greatest percentage of its residents vaccinated with at least one dose, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The New England states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, as well as New Jersey, have been able to vaccinate their residents the fastest nationwide. States that are still struggling include Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

Californias pace of vaccination has improved since the first vaccine dose in the state was administered exactly five months ago in the arm of Helen Cordova, an ICU nurse at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center on Sunset Boulevard.

Seven weeks into the vaccination push, at the beginning of February, about 150,000 vaccine doses were being administered every day. By early April, California hit its fastest pace of vaccine administration an average of 400,000 doses a day.

Since then, there has been a drop in the pace of vaccinations to roughly 250,000 doses per day.

To get more people vaccinated, officials in some parts of California are starting to shutter mass vaccination sites and devoting more resources to mobile and pop-up clinics that can offer easier access to the vaccine in some of the states hardest-hit neighborhoods.

Health officers are hoping that vaccination rates wont continue to fall too quickly, and they announced this week that adolescents age 12 to 15 are now eligible for the Pfizer vaccine. They hope that could also spark renewed interest among older family members who remain unvaccinated. The shots are administered free to residents, without regard to insurance or immigration status.

Although mass vaccination sites at sports arenas and fairgrounds were set up in the early months of the response, those efforts may have missed some of the people who needed it most those living in disadvantaged neighborhoods, those in crowded housing and those who needed to work outside the home.

These large county vaccine sites were less effective in reaching residents in the hardest-hit communities, said Dr. Paul Simon, chief science officer for the L.A. County Department of Public Health.

Transportation and other access barriers at these sites may have contributed to some of the early inequities and vaccination rates in the county, necessitating additional efforts to target the hardest hit communities through neighborhood specific clinics and other focused approaches, Simon said at a recent legislative hearing.

By contrast, wealthier people who worked from home had more success booking vaccine appointments online, and they had the free time and access to a car to travel long distances to get to vaccine sites.

This disparity can be seen throughout California.

In L.A. County alone, about 80% of residents in whiter and wealthier Westside Los Angeles neighborhoods such as Century City, Cheviot Hills and Playa Vista have been administered at least one dose. But in predominantly Black and Latino Los Angeles communities such as Watts, Westlake and Florence-Firestone as well as in the cities of Compton and Lancaster fewer than 40% of residents have been at least partially vaccinated.

Where you live can matter, too. Just 43% of people living in the most disadvantaged areas of California are at least partially vaccinated, while 63% of people living in the most prosperous areas have received at least one shot.

Statewide, only 34% of Latino and 35% of Black residents have received at least one dose of vaccine, compared to 50% of white, 47% of Native American and 61% of Asian American or Pacific Islander residents.

Officials have voiced optimism that rolling out robust mobile vaccination teams and pop-up clinic sites in hard-hit neighborhoods will help increase vaccination rates.

Yet, there can also be disparities within a racial group.

In the home of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County, officials found that just 45% of Filipino Americans age 16 and older had received at least one dose of vaccine, while 59% of Chinese Americans, 64% of Indian Americans and 74% of Vietnamese Americans have been at least partially vaccinated.

Officials are also making efforts to encourage vaccinations among the youngest adults, who officials say have been especially prone to spreading the virus.

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50% of Californians are vaccinated against COVID-19 - Los Angeles Times

For Immediate Release: May 10, 2021

Espaol

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age. The FDA amended the EUA originally issued on Dec. 11, 2020 for administration in individuals 16 years of age and older.

The FDAs expansion of the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age is a significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. Todays action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic. Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations.

From March 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021, approximately 1.5 million COVID-19 cases in individuals 11 to 17 years of age have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Children and adolescents generally have a milder COVID-19 disease course as compared to adults. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is administered as a series of two doses, three weeks apart, the same dosage and dosing regimen for 16 years of age and older.

The FDA has determined that Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has met the statutory criteria to amend the EUA, and that the known and potential benefits of this vaccine in individuals 12 years of age and older outweigh the known and potential risks, supporting the vaccines use in this population.

Having a vaccine authorized for a younger population is a critical step in continuing to lessen the immense public health burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. With science guiding our evaluation and decision-making process, the FDA can assure the public and medical community that the available data meet our rigorous standards to support the emergency use of this vaccine in the adolescent population 12 years of age and older.

The FDA has updated the Fact Sheets for Healthcare Providers Administering the Vaccine (Vaccination Providers) and for Recipients and Caregivers with information to reflect the use of the vaccine in the adolescent population, including the benefits and risks of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.

The EUA amendment for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was issued to Pfizer Inc. The issuance of an EUA is not an FDA approval (licensure) of a vaccine. The EUA will be effective until the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of the emergency use of drugs and biologics for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 is terminated, and may be revised or revoked if it is determined the EUA no longer meets the statutory criteria for issuance or to protect public health or safety.

The available safety data to support the EUA in adolescents down to 12 years of age, include 2,260 participants ages 12 through 15 years old enrolled in an ongoing randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial in the United States. Of these, 1,131 adolescent participants received the vaccine and 1,129 received a saline placebo. More than half of the participants were followed for safety for at least two months following the second dose.

The most commonly reported side effects in the adolescent clinical trial participants, which typically lasted 1-3 days, were pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, chills, muscle pain, fever and joint pain. With the exception of pain at the injection site, more adolescents reported these side effects after the second dose than after the first dose, so it is important for vaccination providers and recipients to expect that there may be some side effects after either dose, but even more so after the second dose. The side effects in adolescents were consistent with those reported in clinical trial participants 16 years of age and older. It is important to note that as a general matter, while some individuals experience side effects following any vaccination, not every individuals experience will be the same and some people may not experience side effects.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine should not be given to anyone with a known history of a severe allergic reaction, including anaphylaxisto any component of the vaccine. Since its authorization for emergency use, rare severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, have been reported following administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in some recipients.

The effectiveness data to support the EUA in adolescents down to 12 years of age is based on immunogenicity and an analysis of COVID-19 cases. The immune response to the vaccine in 190 participants, 12 through 15 years of age, was compared to the immune response of 170 participants, 16 through 25 years of age. In this analysis, the immune response of adolescents was non-inferior to (at least as good as) the immune response of the older participants. An analysis of cases of COVID-19 occurring among participants, 12 through 15 years of age, seven days after the second dose was also conducted. In this analysis, among participants without evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2, no cases of COVID-19 occurred among 1,005 vaccine recipients and 16 cases of COVID-19 occurred among 978 placebo recipients; the vaccine was 100% effective in preventing COVID-19. At this time, there are limited data to address whether the vaccine can prevent transmission of the virus from person to person. In addition, at this time, data are not available to determine how long the vaccine will provide protection.

As part of the original EUA request, Pfizer Inc. submitted a plan to continue monitoring the safety of the vaccine as it is used under EUA. This plan has been updated to include the newly authorized adolescent population, and includes longer-term safety follow-up for participants enrolled in ongoing clinical trials, as well as other activities aimed at monitoring the safety of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and ensuring that any safety concerns are identified and evaluated in a timely manner.

It is mandatory for Pfizer Inc. and vaccination providers to report the following to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine: all vaccine administration errors, serious adverse events, cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome and cases of COVID-19 that result in hospitalization or death.

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The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nations food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use in Adolescents in Another Important Action in Fight...