Many restrictions have been lifted all over the country in courtesy of the COVID-19 vaccines being given out. Just recently, it was announced that as of June 15th, the mandate on masks in California will be lifted. With this news spreading like wildfire across the state, more and more people are anxious to get their vaccine.

Last week the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on children from the ages of 12-15. This is a big step for teens who have been waiting to receive their vaccine, and for the country as a whole.

Extensive research has proven that the Pfizer vaccine is safe and effective in adolescents as young as 12 years old. The trial which included 2,260 individuals from the ages 12-15 provided great results. According to Pfizer.com, “In the trial, 18 cases of COVID-19 were observed in the placebo group versus none in the vaccinated group.” These results show a vaccine success of 100% in participants who received the Pfizer vaccine. The studies done also showed that the vaccine was generally well tolerated by individuals.

Since then, the FDA has approved emergency use of the vaccine in 12-15 year olds to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Pfizer website also states, “The emergency use of this product is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of the medical product.” Once things return to normal the FDA is set to review and correctly license the Pfizer vaccine, but for now things remain under EUA.

Vaccinations for young individuals are considered important to get students back into school safely. In the span of a week a total of 600,000 adolescents from the ages of 12-15 received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. This led to a total of over 4 million people under the age of 17 being vaccinated.

Currently only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for ages 12 and up. While the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and Moderna vaccine are only for individuals 18 and older.

This past weekend I was able to get my first dose of the vaccine. I experienced very few symptoms mostly just a sore arm and some redness, but nothing bad. The shot is short and simple, and once you receive the dose they require you to wait 15 minutes before being allowed to leave.

It hasn’t been an easy year for any of us, we’ve had to deal with many difficult situations. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our lives greatly in many negative ways. Now with the Pfizer vaccine being available for many individuals it is time to start our lives again. If you can and if you want to, I encourage you all to go out and receive the vaccine. Let’s go back to normal and have an amazing summer.