Beginning tomorrow, April 15, all people 16 years of age and older will be eligible to be vaccinated. There are a few important reminders when vaccinating minors:
- Pfizer-BioNTech is currently the only COVID-19 vaccine authorized for those 16 years of age and older. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are authorized for people 18 and older at this time. Please verify what vaccine brand is available at a location prior to making an appointment.
- Those age 16 or 17 may need consent from a parent or guardian to get the vaccine, unless they are legally emancipated. Providers may have different requirements for documenting consent, so please call ahead to find out what is needed. In general, Washington law does not allow unemancipated minors the right to consent to COVID-19 vaccination.
- Please do not seek or schedule appointments for ineligible minors.
At the mass vaccination sites operated by the Snohomish County Vaccine Taskforce, people who are 16 and older may be vaccinated with parent or guardian consent for the Pfizer vaccine. An adult parent or legal guardian must accompany anyone under 18 to the vaccination appointment to sign the consent form on site. They should also bring identification showing proof of age for the minor, such as a driver’s license or birth certificate. The registration process is the same as for any other eligible patient – they can sign up via the registration links at http://bit.ly/snocovaccine or call the call center at 425-339-5278.
For minors who sign up for appointments at sites that are not administering Pfizer, they will be contacted by email with an appointment cancelation because the other vaccines are not yet authorized for ages 16 and 17. They provide date of birth during registration, which allows us to notify them if they have registered for a vaccine that is not authorized for their age group. Appointments for those under 16 at sites offering Pfizer will be cancelled, as well appointments for those 17 years of age and younger at sites offering Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. If a minor appears at a Snohomish County mass vaccination site unaccompanied or without consent from their parent or legal guardian, or without validation of age, they will be turned away without vaccination.
Snohomish Health District Health Officer Dr. Chris Spitters and Jason Biermann, Snohomish County Director of Emergency Management, give updates on the response to COVID-19 in Snohomish County.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W35JLLdP24
In alignment with state guidance, the county on Tuesday stopped distributing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – at least temporarily – while a review is conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The concern needs to be evaluated, but also kept in context, Dr. Spitters told the press conference. With more than 6 million doses of the vaccine distributed so far, the issue appears to be “extremely rare,” literally a one in a million risk, he said. Many routine medical decisions get made daily with known risks that are far higher.
“There is no risk-free pathway in a moment like this,” Dr. Spitters said, adding that vaccination is key to bringing the COVID crisis to an end.
The county has had no reports of problems connected to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after about 24,000 doses distributed in the county to date. This week, about 2,500 doses of the vaccine were scheduled for distribution by the Snohomish County Vaccine Taskforce, all at the vaccination center being operated at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett.
Those appointments were canceled on Tuesday, and the taskforce was identifying options for rescheduling patients, Biermann said.
Vaccination appointments were continuing at the taskforce’s other sites using Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
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