Massachusetts children ages 12 to 15 are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel voted Wednesday afternoon to recommend the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in kids as young as 12.
This comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use for children ages 12 to 15 on Monday.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the former chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, signed off on the recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Wednesday night.
Massachusetts children ages 12 to 15 — which is a group of about 400,000 people — can start making vaccination appointments and have access to walk-in vaccinations. Many of them have already pre-registered for shots through the state website.
In addition to the mass vaccination sites, Walgreens and CVS said they will offer shots to that age group starting Thursday.
CVS encourages appointments be made online at cvs.com or through the CVS Pharmacy app to ensure availability, but walk-ins are also accepted, according to a spokesperson.
Walgreens also announced that it will offer the Pfizer vaccine to children 12 to 15. Those seeking an appointment are asked to visit Walgreens.com/ScheduleVaccine.
