The Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department wasted little time in putting the Center for Disease Control’s latest recommendation into motion.
The CDC announced Wednesday that Dr. Rochelle Walensky accepted a recommendation by the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to move forward with COVID-19 vaccines for youth ages 12-15.
This came two days after the Food and Drug Administration amended an emergency authorization for the Pfizer vaccine to include the younger age group.
“Today, I adopted the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation that endorsed the safety and effectiveness of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and its use in 12- through 15-year-old adolescents.” Walensky said through an issued statement. “The CDC now recommends that this vaccine be used among this population, and providers may begin vaccinating them right away.”
Ohio County started receiving appoints for and began vaccinating area youth the next day.
“We started vaccinating children in that age group on Thursday and continued into Friday,” noted Howard Gamble, administrator for the county health department.
Those first appointments took place at the county’s vaccination center at the Highlands. Those opportunities will continue next week from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. And expect those times to continue as long as demand holds.
“The vaccine center is great,” Gamble noted. “Everyone knows where it is, it’s convenient, and it’s handicap accessible. Eventually we may have to move down from the Highlands in favor of smaller venues, but right now, we’re still seeing anywhere from 100 to 200 people per day so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to move.”
Locally, the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department is taking appointments and walk-ups for the vaccine for youth in that age bracket starting Monday at its Communication Vaccination Center at the Highlands.
In conjunction with the county’s vaccination center, four local schools are offering the vaccine’s as part of a walk-in clinic on their respective campuses next week.
When and Where are Schools Hosting Vaccinations
Four different schools, three public and one private, will be offering the Pfizer vaccine on different days next week.
Starting on Monday, the on-campus walk-in clinics will be held from 4-7 p.m. nightly at the following locations: the Warwood School (Monday), Linsly School (Tuesday), Ritchie Elementary in South Wheeling (Wednesday) and Bridge Street Middle School (Thursday) in Elm Grove.
A parent or guardian must be present in order for the students in that particular household to receive the vaccination. For Linsly students who reside outside of West Virginia, they are still eligible to receive the vaccine.
“Linsly students who meet the age requirement may be vaccinated regardless of their state of residency,” Linsly headmaster Justin Zimmerman noted in a school release Thursday. “A parent or guardian must be present for students under the age of 18, and I would like to strongly encourage Linsly parents, students, and members of our community who are eligible to take advantage of this opportunity to get vaccinated.”
Out-of-state residents who attend Linsly will be eligible only at the Linsly-specific clinic. The others are open only to West Virginia residents. Those students need only receive their first vaccination shot at the school. The second one, which will be scheduled for 21 days later, will be honored at all sites.
“There won’t be a problem,” Gamble noted. “Once the first shot is complete, they will have their vaccination card as well as their name will be put into the federal registry system. When it’s pulled up, they will see the student is eligible for the second.
“Most people bring their vaccine cards with them, however, which is more than sufficient in any case.
Speaking of information, Gamble noted that the health department itself doesn’t receive many calls with questions pertaining to the vaccine, but did explain the questions become ample at the vaccine sites prior to being administered. Medical personnel are on hand and are willing to answer any questions. But Gamble also noted that each person’s personal primary care physician is also a great source of information, especially considering any potential individual side effects and reactions a person may have, given the PCPs knowledge of the individual’s medical history.
For More information visit the health department’s website.
