{"id":122459,"date":"2021-06-10T15:40:01","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T22:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=122459"},"modified":"2021-06-10T15:40:01","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T22:40:01","slug":"state-epidemiologist-highlights-expanded-covid-19-vaccine-eligibility-to-protect-kids-12-and-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=122459","title":{"rendered":"State Epidemiologist Highlights Expanded COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility to Protect Kids 12 and Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sacramento, CA…California State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan pens column as guest author in Governor\u2019s \u201cOn the Record\u201d series, which is translated into multiple languages and published online and in print by ethnic media outlets<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today released the latest \u201cOn the Record\u201d ethnic media column, in which California State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan encourages California families to vaccinate their 12 to 15-year-olds against COVID-19 \u2013 an age group comprising about 2.1 million Californians. Protecting adolescents with vaccinations will help move the state closer to ending the pandemic and ease its toll on their mental health and social-emotional\u00a0wellbeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe past year has been hard on all of us, but especially difficult for our teens who have had to put their lives on hold. Now that eligibility has expanded, we can confidently give our kids a shot at being kids again with the comfort of knowing they are protected from COVID-19,\u201d wrote Dr. Pan in the column. \u201cWhen more Californians become vaccinated, we can feel safer as restrictions are lifted and life begins to return to a sense of normalcy. When 12 to 15-year-olds are vaccinated, families can be safer as they venture out more, go on vacations and get back to doing the things they love.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest column can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

California\u00a0expanded eligibility<\/a>\u00a0for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to 12 to 15-year-olds last month after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s (CDC) vaccine safety review panel and the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup recommended that the vaccine is safe and effective in protecting this age group against severe illness, hospitalization and death. In the weeks since the eligibility expansion, approximately 27.5 percent of 12 to 15-year-olds have received at least one dose.<\/p>\n

In the column, Dr. Pan addresses potential questions and concerns teens and their parents or guardians may have about the vaccine. Dr. Pan explains that clinical trials have proven the vaccine to be safe and effective for youth in this age group, and that the technology used to make the vaccine has been developed over the last 20 years. Vaccinated individuals may experience mild side effects such as a sore arm, fever or fatigue.<\/p>\n

A parent of two eligible adolescents, Dr. Pan discusses the stress and isolation youth have experienced due to the pandemic, and how getting vaccinated is a critical step to getting back to our normal lives, including more opportunities to safely spend time with friends and family.<\/p>\n

Dr. Pan also highlights the state\u2019s new $116.5 million\u00a0Vax for the Win<\/a>\u00a0incentive program, in which all Californians who have had at least one COVID-19 dose \u2013 including youth \u2013 are eligible to receive $50 prepaid or grocery cards and are entered into\u00a0randomized cash prize drawings. A total of 30 winners will receive $50,000, and on June 15, 10 will win $1.5 million as the state fully reopens. $750,000 has already been awarded in the first round of cash prize drawings last week, and the next 15 winners will be selected this Friday.<\/p>\n

Dr. Pan underscores the state\u2019s work to ensure equitable access to the vaccine, including partnerships with local health departments, community-based organizations and school districts to reach underserved youth in foster care or those experiencing homelessness, as well as efforts to improve access in rural communities through mobile clinics, free transportation and more. Vaccines are free, including for those who don\u2019t have health insurance and regardless of immigration status.<\/p>\n

To promote easy access, the Administration established a\u00a0portal<\/a>\u00a0where schools and other community sites can request support to set up mobile and pop-up clinics. Schools \u2013 especially larger districts \u2013 can also become providers by following the steps outlined\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0and in a school-specific\u00a0recorded webinar<\/a>. For resources to support outreach, schools and other community organizations can access the messaging\u00a0toolkit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Parents, legal guardians or emancipated young people can check vaccine availability and book an appointment at\u00a0MyTurn.ca.gov<\/a>\u00a0or by calling California\u2019s COVID-19 Hotline at 1-833-422-4255. They can also contact their family doctor, local community health clinic or public health office for more information.<\/p>\n

More information on the Vax for the Win program can be found\u00a0here<\/a>. If you encounter a possible vaccine incentive scam, please email\u00a0rumors@cdph.ca.gov<\/a>\u00a0or call the Vax for the Win incentives hotline at 1-833-993-3873.<\/p>\n

www.cdph.ca.gov<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sacramento, CA…California State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan pens column as guest author in Governor\u2019s \u201cOn the Record\u201d series, which is translated into multiple languages and published online and in print by ethnic media outlets The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today released the latest \u201cOn the Record\u201d ethnic media column, in which California State […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1599,"featured_media":118103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Vaccinate-All-58-400x250-1.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1599"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122459\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/118103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}