FDA expands Pfizer vaccine approval for children ages 12 to 15

The vaccine is available at Walgreens in Hopkinsville and at nine pharmacies in Clarksville, Tennessee.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for prevention of COVID-19 is now authorized for adolescents ages 12 through 15.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday expanded emergency authorization of the vaccine for younger Americans. Previously, the vaccine was approved for anyone age 16 or older.

Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock called it “a significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In a news release, Woodcock said, “Today’s 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.”

The Pfizer vaccine is available in Hopkinsville at Walgreens. It is also available at nine locations in Clarksville, Tennessee, according to the Vaccines.gov website. As of Tuesday morning, the website listed these pharmacies with the Pfizer within a 25-mile drive of Hopkinsville:

  • Walgreens, 2901 Fort Campbell Blvd., Hopkinsville, KY
  • Walmart, 408 Tiny Town Road, Clarksville, TN
  • Walgreens, 2975 Fort Campbell Blvd., Clarksville, TN
  • Walgreens, 1751 Tiny Town Road, Clarksville, TN
  • Walgreens, 1460 Fort Campbell Blvd., Clarksville, TN
  • Walmart, 2551 Whitfield Road, Clarksville, TN 
  • Kroger Pharmacy, 110 Dover Crossing Road, Clarksville, TN 
  • Walmart, 216 Dover Road, Clarksville, TN 
  • Kroger, 2100 Lowes Drive, Clarksville, TN 
  • Walgreens, 2109 Wilma Rudolph Blvd., Clarksville, TN

Here is a list of frequently asked questions about the Pfizer vaccine for adolescents from Shots, the health news service of NPR. 

Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.