From babies to young adults, men and women need vaccines in the course of childhood to give them with immunity from probably perilous infectious diseases. If people choose not to vaccinate by themselves or their small children, some diseases that are now rare or nonexistent in the United States may resurface. The Fda has licensed the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for unexpected emergency use to avoid COVID-19 in men and women 12 and older.  The Centers for Disorder Manage and Avoidance (CDC) suggests COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 12 and older.  

1. Is the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for adolescents 12 by means of fifteen the exact vaccine licensed for unexpected emergency use in men and women 16 and older?

Certainly. Pfizer, Inc. analyzed its COVID-19 vaccine in a clinical trial in adolescents 12 by means of fifteen. Centered on this knowledge, the Fda decided that the regarded and likely added benefits of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID‑19 Vaccine outweigh the regarded and likely challenges of the vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 in adolescents 12 by means of fifteen.


“Parents and guardians can relaxation certain that the agency undertook a arduous and comprehensive evaluate of all available knowledge, as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine unexpected emergency use authorizations.”

– Performing Fda Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D.


2. Have been the facet effects reported throughout the clinical trial in adolescents 12 by means of fifteen consistent with facet effects reported by men and women 16 and older?

Certainly. The most normally reported facet effects have been:

  • pain at the injection site
  • tiredness
  • headache
  • chills
  • muscle mass pain
  • fever
  • joint pain

Like men and women 16 and older, adolescents 12 by means of fifteen are far more probable to expertise facet effects just after the next dose of the vaccine.

While some men and women expertise facet effects subsequent any vaccination, not everyone’s expertise will be the exact and some men and women may not expertise facet effects.

3. Is the Fda continuing to keep track of the basic safety of COVID-19 vaccines? What about stories of heart inflammation subsequent vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccines?

Certainly, the Fda is checking the basic safety of all vaccines, together with COVID-19 vaccines, which has and constantly will be a best priority for the Fda. COVID-19 vaccines are going through intensive basic safety checking in the U.S.

The Fda and the CDC have numerous units in place to regularly keep track of COVID-19 vaccine basic safety. These units, termed “passive surveillance” and “active surveillance” units, speedily detect and examine likely basic safety problems. Techniques such as the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting Procedure (VAERS) and CDC’s textual content-dependent v-harmless process, which receive stories of adverse situations subsequent vaccination, are illustrations of passive surveillance units. The FDA‘s Best Initiative is an instance of an active surveillance process, which can assess information and facts taking place in hundreds of thousands of people recorded in significant knowledge units to examine any basic safety indicators that are identified by VAERS or v-harmless.  Given the chance of COVID-19 disease and similar, probably serious, difficulties, the knowledge proceed to present that the regarded and likely added benefits of every of the 3 licensed COVID-19 vaccines outweigh their regarded and likely challenges.

Reviews to VAERS suggest an enhanced chance of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle mass) and pericarditis (inflammation of tissue surrounding the heart) subsequent vaccination with the two Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, especially subsequent the next dose. (Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is licensed for unexpected emergency use in people eighteen and older). Normally, onset of signs and symptoms has been numerous days to a 7 days subsequent vaccination. 

The Fda required the two producers to revise the Simple fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine (Vaccination Providers) to include a Warning pertaining to the chance of myocarditis and pericarditis, as very well as the Simple fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers to include information and facts about myocarditis and pericarditis. The Fda will give updates to the public as more facts develop into available.

4. Can my adolescent get other vaccines with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine?

Certainly. In accordance to the CDC, if an adolescent 12 by means of seventeen is receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, they can receive routinely suggested vaccines at the exact time as the COVID-19 vaccine.

5. Why ought to I get my adolescent vaccinated to avoid COVID-19?

Vaccination is one of the best approaches to protect men and women 12 and older from COVID-19.

The most the latest scientific studies present that at present licensed COVID-19 vaccines avoid COVID-19, together with likely severe well being implications of hospitalization and demise.   The U.S. is at present suffering from a surge of COVID-19 cases and far more adolescents are turning out to be ill and currently being hospitalized with COVID-19 throughout this surge.

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