Pfizer vaccine administered to adolescents by rural health department

VERNAL, Utah- The Tri-County Health Department in Vernal was already planning a clinic for adolescents and adults with the Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday. When the department got word of the CDC’s approval of the vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds, they started giving the shots to that age group. 

The health department’s spokesperson Liberty Best said they have a cooperative arrangement with Davis County to provide the Pfizer vaccines. Normally, the vaccines require super-cold freezers for more than a few days of storage. However, the health department had enough on hand to reach quite a few adolescents on the first day it was available. 

“Thirty-two 12 to 15-year-old youth, and we did sixty-five total vaccines. So just about half were children,” Best told KSL NewsRadio.

Best reported the health department plans to keep up the program for adolescents through the end of the week and in the future. 

“We’re going to be at Uintah High School (in Vernal) right after school and then Union High School (in Roosevelt) right after school on Friday,” she said.

So far, only the Pfizer vaccine is approved for adolescents ages 12 to 15, though clinical trials are underway for younger children and for the other vaccines.

In Utah, a pair of West Jordan brothers have volunteered for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine trial in children. They’re sharing their experience after recording their symptoms daily through an app provided by the trial.