Riverside County ordering additional Pfizer doses ahead of teen vaccination approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for those ages 12 to 15 in the few days.

Riverside County is preparing ahead of time, ordering additional Pfizer vaccine doses to be able to vaccinate teens.

"We are asking for more, we're asking for more Pfizer for next week," said Micheal Osur, Assistant Director of Public Health for Riverside County.

It's unclear how many doses Riverside County is requesting and how soon parents could start making appointments or where they could go for those shots.

The FDA's action will be followed by a meeting of a federal vaccine advisory committee to discuss whether to recommend the shot for 12- to 15-year-olds. Shots could begin after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adopts the committee’s recommendation. Those steps could be completed in a matter of days.

Last month, Pfizer announced that they've found that its shot, which is already authorized for those age 16 and older, also provided protection for the younger group. The company's vaccine study showed no COVID-19 cases among fully vaccinated adolescents compared with 18 among those given dummy shots. 2,260 U.S. volunteers ages 12 to 15 participated in the study.

Kids had side effects similar to young adults, the company said. The main side effects are pain, fever, chills and fatigue, particularly after the second dose. The study will continue to track participants for two years for more information about long-term protection and safety.

Pfizer isn’t the only company seeking to lower the age limit for its vaccine. Results also are expected by the middle of this year from a U.S. study of Moderna’s vaccine in 12- to 17-year-olds.

But in a sign that the findings were promising, the FDA already allowed both companies to begin U.S. studies in children 11 and younger, working their way to as young as 6 months old.

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing updates.