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How To Get Your 12-To-15-Year-Old Kid's COVID Vaccine Appointment In NY, NJ Right Now

By

Sophia Chang

Published May 13, 2021

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A teenager wearing a green polo shirt with sleeve rolled up gets a shot.

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By

Sophia Chang

Published May 13, 2021

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New York’s state- and city-run vaccination sites and NJ's state-run hubs are now allowing parents and guardians of kids ages 12 to 15 to book appointments immediately, after the federal government approved emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shots for that age group Wednesday.

How to book a vaccine appointment for 12-15 year-olds in NYC and NY:

In New York, all of the state-run sites and dozens of the city-run sites are also open to walk-ins. For either booked appointments or walk-ins, minors will need to be accompanied by their parent or guardian.

If the parent or guardian can’t be at the vaccination clinic in person, they can supply consent via phone or a written statement. The statement must include the minor's name and date of birth and the parent or guardian's name, phone number and signature, according to the city’s vaccination website, and parents should confirm that their vaccination site will accept the written statement by calling 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692).

A notable exception to the consent policy is that minors who belong to a group “to whom the law gives the right to consent to their own care (e.g., married minors, minors who are parents or pregnant, and minors in the military)” do not need the permission of a parent or guardian, according to the city’s vaccination website.

Some pharmacies, including CVS, are also booking appointments for kids under the federally-managed program. As of now, only the Pfizer vaccine is authorized for kids ages 12-17 years old, though Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have clinical trials underway for kids.

New York City’s pediatricians are also preparing to administer the vaccine, though deliveries to private providers may take some time, according to an email sent Tuesday by the large Tribeca Pediatrics medical group. “We are working with the NYC Department of Health to secure a supply of the vaccine to administer to our NY and NJ patients,” the email said. “We hope to receive a supply within the next few weeks and will begin online scheduling at that time.”

The city’s Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi said all pediatricians and community health providers who’ve requested vaccines for their young patients have been approved. “Our work with community pediatricians as part of a broader strategy to shift more and more vaccination to the places and spaces that patients already trust, particularly family doctors and primary care clinics. I'm pleased to report that as of this week, the Health Department has allocated COVID 19 vaccines to all qualified community providers who have requested an order,” Chokshi said at a press briefing Wednesday.

How to book a vaccine appointment for 12-15 year-olds in NJ:

New Jersey’s Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said in a statement Wednesday the state was “notifying providers that they can move forward immediately to administer the Pfizer vaccine to this age group.”

At this point, NJ's "mega" vaccine sites are offering the jab for the 12-to-15 year-olds (a parent or guardian must accompany anyone under age 18), as are national pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens. The New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians told NorthJersey.com that they were aware of only one pediatric practice receiving the vaccine.

Is the vaccine safe for this age group?

Chokshi said on Wednesday: "Based on the FDA report, the safety profile of the Pfizer vaccine for 12-to-15-year-olds is strong. It's the same vaccine that has already been administered safely to millions of adults. It will be at the same strength. That means at the same dose, and no other safety signals have been detected in the younger age group. In the study of nearly 2,300 adolescents between 12 and 15, half received the two-shot vaccine regimen, and half received a placebo. Researchers measured antibody levels triggered by the shots. They found more robust immune responses in the teens than in the young adults who have already been vaccinated in the original trial."

Further, he said, the only people who got COVID-19 were the "adolescents who received the placebo," which "indicat[es] strong effectiveness of the vaccine."

What does this mean overall?

Professor Donna Hallas, the director of the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program at NYU's Rory Meyers College of Nursing, told Gothamist/WNYC that vaccinating 12 to 15-year-olds will be a “game-changer." There are an estimated 914,000 New Yorkers in this age group, while NJ has 452,000, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

"We've been told that these kids are probably the spreaders, so they have contracted it but don't have symptoms but spread it to others. But some children have gotten very seriously ill. They've gotten the MIS-C syndrome, and they have the long-term cardiac effects of that. Hopefully, their hearts will recover. They're young, but we don't know,” Hallas said. “This is why the vaccine is so important. It will prevent children from getting seriously ill, hospitalized or even dying from the disease. Plus, it's going to allow these kids to go back to school, play sports, do their instruments, be with their friends and also to continuously reduce the spread of COVID-19.”

Tagged

COVID-19

coronavirus

vaccines

new york city

new york

new jersey

Sophia Chang

Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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