Cerro Gordo county health dept. to allow individuals 12 years of age or older to sign up for a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine appointment

MASON CITY – Beginning Wednesday, May 12th, 2021 CG Public Health will allow individuals aged 12 years of age or older to sign up for a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine appointment

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for individuals aged 12-15. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has voted to accept this authorization permitting the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in individuals aged 12 years or older.

“Having a vaccine authorized for a younger population is a critical step in continuing to lessen the immense public health burden caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Brian Hanft, director of CG Public Health. “With science guiding the evaluation and decision-making process, we fully support this decision. The FDA assured us that the available data meets their rigorous standards to support the emergency use of this vaccine in this population and the ACIP’s confidence in this authorization solidifies our decision.”

Beginning Wednesday, May 12th, 2021 CG Public Health will allow individuals aged 12 years of age or older to sign up for a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine appointment for upcoming community vaccine clinics by visiting, https://cghealth.com/sign-up/.

Upcoming CG Public Health community vaccine clinics:
Friday, May 14th, 2021 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm (noon).
1720 S. Federal Ave, Mason City, IA 50401 (the location of the old Sears department store).
Wednesday, May 19th, 2021 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
1720 S. Federal Ave, Mason City, IA 50401 (the location of the old Sears department store).

Signing up for an appointment is best, but walk-ins will be welcomed. No ID, payment, or insurance is required. Any individual aged 12-17 years of age will be required to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

During the vaccine trials leading up to the expanded use, an analysis was conducted of cases of COVID-19 occurring seven days after the second dose was administered among participants ages 12 through 15. Results showed that among participants without evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2, no cases of COVID-19 occurred among 1,005 vaccine recipients and 16 cases of COVID-19 occurred among 978 placebo recipients; the vaccine was 100% effective in preventing COVID-19. More than half of the participants were followed for safety for at least two months following the second dose.