FDA is expected to approve Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for adolescents next week, sparking excitement among Philly-area teens and pediatricians

When the COVID-19 vaccine was made available to adults a few months ago, James R. was nervous. At the time, James, a 13-year-old living in Chester County, wasn’t sure whether he’d want to get the vaccine if it became available for him. He was worried about side effects and “things that could go wrong with it.”

But after reflecting on how many people have died from the disease, James decided he wanted to get vaccinated.

He might not have to wait long to roll up his sleeve. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to expand the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents aged 12 to 15 as early as next week.

Though children are less likely to get sick from COVID-19, public health officials have said that vaccinating kids will be key to increasing immunity levels in the general population, and bringing down the death rate and numbers of hospitalizations among those at greater risk of severe illness.

“I’m kind of excited and nervous at the same time,” said James, who is identified by his last initial because his parents asked to protect his identity. “I’m mainly excited because this means that we learned a lot about the virus and how to stop it. It means that things will go back to normal.”

Graeme Zbyszewski, a 13-year-old living in Phoenixville, worried about being part of “the first generation of people to get this vaccine.” But ultimately he decided he wanted to get vaccinated because “the vaccine will open new doors for people who need social interaction or have disabilities that have made virtual school profoundly hard and irritating to do,” he said via email.

Steve Shapiro, chair of pediatrics at Abington-Jefferson Health, said he’s optimistic that there will be “very good uptake” among adolescents once the vaccine receives expanded approval.

“I’m sure that some parents will be relieved to give their young adolescents vaccines,” he said. Parents will still be cautious, he said, noting that they should continue social distancing and practicing other safety measures, “but this will help.”

Shapiro said his optimism is rooted in the trust he has built with patients by having conversations about other routine childhood vaccines over the years.

“That underpins all of those discussions,” he said. “[Patients] trust that they will get the correct vaccine under the correct circumstances.”

In Philadelphia, the expanded FDA authorization would make about 80,000 youth eligible for vaccination, Thomas Farley, the city’s health commissioner, said Tuesday.

While some city pediatricians would be approved to carry doses, Farley said that families might not be able to rely on pediatricians’ offices as a source for vaccines because of Pfizer’s ultra-cold storage requirements. Instead, doses would be held at existing vaccination sites, and parents should accompany children to their appointments.

“We want all those children to be vaccinated before school starts again in the fall,” Farley said. “If parents are concerned about the vaccine, I would say this vaccine has been tested in children and had no adverse effects whatsoever.”

In Philadelphia suburbs, school districts have held or planned vaccination clinics for students 16 and older, and some have begun surveying families to gauge vaccine interest for younger students ahead of Pfizer’s expected authorization.

In Delaware County, the Haverford Township School District has asked parents of children 12 and older to specify their interest by Wednesday.

”In anticipation for the FDA emergency approval, we need to know how many families and students are willing to participate in getting the vaccine,” district officials said in an email to families.

Cheryl Horsey, director of student services in the Cheltenham School District, said that after learning of the vaccine’s likely approval for younger students, district officials “immediately made contact” with Wellness Pharmacy in North Wales, which helped them put on a clinic last week for ages 16 and up.

Cheltenham vaccinated more than 100 students and community members at that event, and “we absolutely would want to offer this to that student group as well,” Horsey said of 12- to 15-year-olds.

New Jersey school officials also are planning to expand current vaccination events to include adolescents. The Haddonfield School District bused 40 students to the mass vaccine site at the Moorestown Mall this week, said Superintendent Charles Klaus. “We will investigate doing the same for 12+,” he said.

The Camden School District plans to survey parents of adolescents to determine whether they want vaccines for their children, said Michael Neilon, a district spokesperson.

Some high school students have already received the vaccine after availability opened to all adults. Betsy Stanley, 18, of Media, recently received her first dose, along with her sister, Catie. Because some of her peers had been vaccinated before her, Stanley, a high school senior, said she wasn’t worried about potential side effects. She is excited to “do all kinds of things” once she is fully vaccinated.

“I think there’s no harm in vaccinating people who are younger, especially if they have predisposed conditions that put them at risk,” she said. “I was always planning to get it.”

Mary Greenwood Stanley, Betsy’s mother and a physician assistant, said she encouraged her daughters to get vaccinated because she is immunocompromised.

“Having them vaccinated gives us a little more peace that they’re not going to bring it home to me,” said Greenwood Stanley. “Also, this is a bad disease. Younger people are getting this. Why not prevent that if possible?”

James R. said he is excited about being able to have a “normal” summer vacation again. After he is vaccinated, he’ll be able to play sports and hang out with friends without the worries of infecting his family with COVID-19, he said.

“If this can help stop the spread, it’s definitely worth it,” he said. “After thinking about that, it made me more confident.”

Staff writers Melanie Burney, Maddie Hanna, and Jason Laughlin contributed to this article.