An autumn push to get COVD-19 booster shots into more teenagers’ arms is expected in Montgomery County, Maryland.
“That 12-to-17-year-old population are the ones that have the lowest boosted levels,” said Sean O’Donnell, the administrator for Montgomery County’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response program.
“They go to a congregant setting in schools everyday, so we would like them to be up to date,” he said.
Of that age group in the county, 26% of Black children, 27% of Latino children, 50% of Asian children and 53% of white children have received a COVID booster shot.
While COVID-19 transmission rates are low in Montgomery County, health leaders there believe it would be wise to increase the 12-to-17-year-old vaccine booster rates by the fall because of the seasonality of respiratory illness.
“I would expect that we’re going to have a big push to get people boosted before the school year, otherwise, I think we could see a lot more problems in schools in the fall if people maintain these similarly low vaccination [boosted] rates during a period when the virus is spreading more regularly,” said Earl Stoddard, the county’s assistant chief administrative officer.
Public health officials believe many 12-to-17-year-olds are ready for COVID-19 boosters because many got vaccinated as soon as they were eligible.
Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine received emergency use authorization from federal regulators in December 2020. The vaccine was extended to adolescents 12 to 15 years of age last May.
Vaccine clinics continue to operate at some Montgomery County schools, where booster shots are available to people in all eligible age groups.
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Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | D.C.
