MISSOULA — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave emergency use authorization to allow the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in teens as young as 12 on Monday.
Following clinical trials and research in teens between the ages of 12 and 15, the pharmaceutical company asked the FDA to expand their emergency use authorization to allow the vaccine to be used in younger teens.
The Missoula City-County Health Department (MCCHD), however, is not yet vaccinating 12 to 15-year-old Missoula County residents, nor are they booking these appointments at this time.
MCCHD noted in a news release that although the FDA authorized the use of Pfizer in 12-to-15-year-olds, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is not expected to sign off on until Wednesday.
Once that takes place, the Health Department will review the updated guidance from the CDC and implement it before vaccinating the 12-to-15-year-old age group.
The latest COVID-19 information for Missoula County including clinic times and how to make an appointment can be found here.
Missoula County lifted the face mask mandate on Monday with MCCHD reporting that 60% of the eligible population have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
There have been 9,067 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Missoula County including 8,926 recoveries and 93 COVID-19 related deaths.