City Of Fairfax: Adolescents Ages 12-18 Urged To Get Vaccinated By July 19; FCPS Hosts COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics

Press release from the City of Fairfax :

07/12/2021

Parents/guardians need to act now to get students fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in time for the start of the 2021-22 school year.

Fairfax County Public Schools, George Mason University, and Northern Virginia Community College all begin their fall semester on August 23. That means students should get their first dose no later than July 19.

Why? It takes five weeks to be fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, the only vaccine current available for adolescents age 12-17 years.

The Pfizer vaccine is a two-dose series administered 21 days apart. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it takes two weeks after the second shot to be considered fully vaccinated.

Although fewer children have been infected with COVID-19 compared to adults, children can still be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, get sick, and spread it to others. To limit the spread of illness, adolescents 12 and older are encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as possible. The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. The vaccines have been administered to millions of people under the most intensive safety monitoring in history, which includes studies in adolescents. Parents/guardians, your child can’t get COVID-19 from the vaccine.

Talk to the child’s health care provider — and if the child needs other school-required vaccinations in order to start the new school year, they may get a COVID-19 vaccine along with other vaccines during the same office visit.

COVID-19 vaccine is available at locations throughout the Fairfax Health District, including private health care providers, pharmacies, grocery stores, urgent care clinics and the Health Department. To schedule a vaccination appointment for your child, go to vaccines.gov for the widest selection of vaccination locations, or visit the health department’s website.

The Fairfax Health District includes Fairfax City, Town of Vienna, City of Falls Church, and Fairfax County.

The health department is partnering with FCPS to host special COVID-19 vaccination clinics:

The school-based COVID-19 vaccine clinics are for adolescents 12 years of age and older. To make an appointment, visit the Vaccine Administration Management System (VAMS).

Each school clinic site will also offer walk-in options from 2-7 p.m.

Parents who are unable to bring their child to a COVID-19 vaccination clinic during the work day, may send their child with a responsible adult who is over the age of 18 and can give permission for the vaccination on behalf of the parent. Many locations also offer evening and weekend hours. Parents can find locations that suit their schedule at vaccines.gov.

The CDC has received increased reports of myocarditis and pericarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle/outer lining of the heart) in adolescents and young adults after COVID-19 vaccination. Symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, or feelings of having a fast beating, fluttering, or pounding heart. Confirmed cases have occurred mostly in male adolescents and young adults age 16 years or older.

According to the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the known and potential benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks, including the possible risk of myocarditis or pericarditis, and urges all eligible adolescents to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Watch this video to see Fairfax County Health Department Director of Epidemiology and Population Health Dr. Benjamin Schwartz address myocarditis:

This press release was produced by the City of Fairfax. The views expressed here are the author’s own.