On May 12th, in his weekly press briefing, Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin on COVID-19 trends and the latest on the CDC recommendation of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 12-15 years old:

“Adolescents and children are making up a growing share of COVID-19 cases in the US. Although rates of hospitalization and death are relatively low, some adolescents do develop severe illness. And finally, children can not only contract COVID-19, but they spread it. So for these reasons, today the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended the Pfizer Biontech COVID-19 vaccine for persons 12-15 years of age under the FDA’s emergency use authorization. This will allow more teens to gather safely with their friends and family, return to sporting and social activities. These are not only critical for their mental health wellbeing and development; they are activities we know they want to do so badly and they want to stay healthy while they do it.” – Dr. Jeff Duchin

For more on COVID-19 data trends, visit our data dashboards: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/data.aspx

For more on COVID-19 vaccine planning in King County: http://www.kingcounty.gov/covid/vaccine

Originally posted on May 12, 2021