cent findings from large-scale surveys detailing attitudes toward receiving or deferring acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among various dimensions of the American public. Public health messengers are working with great urgency to persuade Americans to get immunized. A December survey from Kaiser Family Foundation found 71% of adults would get a COVID-19 vaccine that was determined safe by scientists and available for free; but more than a quarter were still hesitant.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update (5/10/21): FDA Authorizes Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Emergency Use in Adolescents in Another Important Action in Fight Against Pandemic: Announces the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA]’s expansion of emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents 12 through 15 years of age. Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock MD explained, “Today’s action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to ending the pandemic. Parents and guardians can rest assured that the agency undertook a rigorous and thorough review of all available data, as we have with all of our COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations.”
Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers: Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the Pfizer-Biotech COVID-19 Vaccine To Prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Individuals 12 Years Of Age and Older: Provides information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] to help parents, caregivers, and recipients to understand the risks and benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. As of May 10, 2021 children and adolescents as young as age 12 may receive that vaccine to help control the current pandemic.
Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine: Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the Pfizer-Biotech COVID-19 Vaccine to Prevent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Updates instructions of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] for COVID-19 Vaccination Providers to reflect the FDA’s May 10, 2021 authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for children and youth ages 12-15.
How School Districts Can Run a COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic: Describes how the Anchorage, AK school district has assembled a large-scale community vaccination clinic that offers key lessons to other districts as they consider or plan to operate vaccination clinics.
Students and COVID-19 Vaccines: Can Schools Require Them, and Will They?: Discusses legal, political, and ethical questions involved in setting a new requirement, especially as COVID-19 vaccines are administered under an emergency-use authorization. Education Week notes that as younger children qualify for COVID-19 vaccines, public health officials are unsure of how many families will opt to have their children inoculated if the shots are not required for school attendance. Some health officials assert that providing incentives for voluntary shots might be a more effective way of encouraging broad acceptance than mandates. “There are a number of push and pull factors here,” according to one representative of the Vaccine Working Group on Ethics and Policy, a group of doctors and researchers from around the country that considers questions related to COVID-19 vaccines.
Innovative Resources Help Communicate, Educate Audiences on COVID-19 Vaccines: Science-Based Information Can be Used with General Public, Essential Workers, Health Professionals: Describes a 2021 campaign to provide Black communities with credible information about COVID-19 vaccines. The series is produced through a collaboration among the Kaiser Family Foundation and Black Coalition Against COVID. The campaign’s resource, the Conversation: Between Us, About Us, offers scores of FAQ videos on a range of topics, including how the vaccines were tested, and how Black people were included in research studies. The campaign, which will expand as new questions and information arise, is working with YouTube and Google to amplify its content and is planning to host live-streaming events a