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Older teens can get the COVID vaccine; here's how to find the right one

Starting April 7, North Carolina opened up vaccine eligibility to all adults, along with a tiny sliver of North Carolina's children -- ages 16 and 17.

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By
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall
, Go Ask Mom editor

Starting April 7, North Carolina opened up vaccine eligibility to all adults, along with a tiny sliver of the state's children — ages 16 and 17. It's an important step in the fight against the ongoing pandemic, experts say, and will provide another layer of protection against the coronavirus as more people are vaccinated. And now, after jockeying to get their own shots, plenty of parents are trying to line up slots for their older teens.

For the moment, older teens are eligible to take only one of the three approved vaccines — the Pfizer/BioNTech shot. That's because only Pfizer/BioNTech included those older teens in their original research of the drug. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson started with people age 18 and up. (Administration of the J&J vaccine was paused this week.)

Dr. Peyton Thompson, a pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases at UNC's School of Medicine, said getting your older teens vaccinated is the right move. Research shows that the vaccine is safe and effective.

"I would definitely recommend getting the vaccine," Dr. Thompson said. "I would vaccinated my own teen if I had one. I think the vaccines are really going to be our key to getting some semblance of normal. I think parents will feel a lot better about their teens going back to school in the fall and having them resume sports and other activities."

Continued mask wearing and social distancing, along with getting as many people vaccinated as possible, is key to ending the pandemic, she said, especially as new variants of the virus emerge, which could jeopardize the effectiveness of the vaccines.

"We really need the vaccines in combination with continuing to wear masks and continued distancing," she said. "We don't know what's going to come of all these variants and how it's going to affect our vaccines."

And, she said, a large percentage of the population, younger children, won't be vaccinated until later. In late March, Pfizer/BioNTech announced that the vaccine is 100% effective and well tolerated in adolescents, ages 12 to 15, and that they would seek emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for those younger kids. Kids younger than 12 may have to wait until the beginning of next year for an approved vaccine.

Side effects for teens who get the vaccine appear to be no different than the symptoms their parents endured when they got the vaccine. There's some arm pain and, in some cases, body aches, fever and chills, often after the second shot. Those symptoms, Dr. Thompson said, mean the vaccine is working. "It seems like reactions are more common in younger adults and older adolescents than the older adult population," she said.

She experienced some arm pain after her first shot and body aches, fever and chills after the second. "I had the whole nine yards," she said. "And I was actually very excited when I had that reaction because I knew the vaccine was working and my immune system was responding to it."

How to find the Pfizer vaccine for teens

While teens are eligible to get the vaccine, it's not always easy to determine who is offering the Pfizer version. Often parents or teens will need to take an extra step to ensure that the clinic or pop-up vaccine location has the correct option. Here's how to make sure your teen is signed up for the right vaccine.

UNC Health

To sign up your 16 or 17-year-old through UNC Health, you'll need to call 984-215-5485 to schedule an appointment. Calls are answered from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., weekdays. More information is on UNC's COVID-19 website.

Duke Health

Duke Health's COVID-19 vaccine scheduling website will take you through a list of several questions, including one where you select your age. From there, you can choose to see available appointments at clinics with only the Pfizer vaccine.

WakeMed

Once you've signed up for a WakeMed MyChart, you'll be able to schedule a vaccine appointment. When you select a location, it will tell you which vaccine the location is offering. More information is on WakeMed's website.

Wake County

"Teens ages 16 and 17 can get the Pfizer vaccine anywhere it is available through Wake County Public Health," Alice Avery, Wake County senior communications consultant, tells me. "Currently, after you sign up for our waiting list, you will receive an email asking you to make an appointment. That email will list out the locations and which vaccine is planned where. All you have to do is choose one that is offering Pfizer."

Johnston County

Johnston County will host a drive-through clinic from 8 a.m. until supplies last on Wednesday, April 14, at Corinth Holders High School, 6875 Applewhite Rd., Wendell, that will feature only the Pfizer vaccine. The county will administer 2,300 doses on a first come, first served basis. For future Pfizer clinics, check Johnston County's press releases, which announce which vaccine will be offered at upcoming events.

Durham County

Sign up to be placed on a list for a vaccine via Durham County's website, but be sure to include your teen's date of birth so that they schedule you for a clinic with the Pfizer vaccine.

North Carolina's Take My Shot

TakeMyShot.NC.gov lists dozens of locations where vaccines are available, but it doesn't sort out which location has which vaccine. Before signing up for an appointment, it prompts people to contact the location to ensure they have Pfizer. "If you are 16 or 17 years of age, please confirm the vaccine location you select has the Pfizer vaccine before your appointment," it says.

As parents and teens have conversations about the vaccine, Dr. Thompson said it was critical that teens are getting their information from reliable sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics and their pediatricians. "I would just caution teens to not rely solely on social media for information about vaccines," she said.

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