BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. — Medical professionals fear young adults and adolescents are still spreaders of the COVID-19 virus. It’s why the CDC has given approval for the Pfizer vaccine to be used to vaccinate children ages 12 to 17.
Right now Pfizer is the only vaccine available for children. Pfizer is now coming up with a new distribution process to make its vaccine more available in hopes of getting more children immunized.
Cold chain storage for the Pfizer vaccine is hard to come by. In Alabama, the special cold storage freezers are at regional locations. In Baldwin County, the only vaccine available for children has to be transported and used within a limited window of time.
“Some Pfizer can be stored for a couple of weeks in a regular vaccine freezer in addition to that Pfizer is about to reduce the amount of vaccine that it has to be ordered in a tray,” said Dr. Karen Landers with the Alabama Department of Public Health.
Pfizer has now come up with a safer way to get the vaccine out faster with no waste. “But now Pfizer is going to have a tray in a size of about 450 doses so that will not only help in terms of being able to utilize a smaller amount of vaccine but again in a period of time that the vaccine can be stored in a regular vaccine freezer,” said Landers.
State health officials say there should be plenty of Pfizer vaccines available especially this summer. “You know the teachers are all vaccinated but you got all the kids in there they’re not vaccinated and they can still pass it around,” said Kelli Lorenzo who’s children go to school in Baldwin County.
Some parents like Johnny Godwin say he and his teenage kids are still thinking about it. “I think it should be the kid’s choice. I mean you could make a cognitive decision at the age of 12, 13, or 14 so whether it be peer pressure if they want it they can go get it. If they don’t I wouldn’t force them,” said Johnny Godwin who also has children in school.
Baldwin County Schools along with Accordia Health and Altapointe Health are partnering to offer the Pfizer vaccine to children and their families. The vaccines will be given on June 18, July 9, and July 30 by appointment.
