ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SHARES COVID-19 VACCINE DATA FOR 12-17-YEAR-OLDS

ERIE COUNTY, NY – Based on information available from New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) as of June 8, 2021, the Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) is providing youth COVID-19 vaccination rates in Erie County.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of Pfizer vaccine for ages 16 and older in December 2020, though supply issues limited its wider use in Erie County until late April. In those five weeks, the total number of first doses (Pfizer) in the 16-17-year-old age group increased 75%. By June 8, 43% of 16-17-year-olds in Erie County residents had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Additional authorizations from the FDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and New York State (NYS) were given on May 12 to allow Pfizer vaccine to be administered to 12-15-year-olds. ECDOH coordinated additional vaccine clinics with local schools, and provided Pfizer vaccine supplies to local pediatric offices. In fewer than four weeks, 31% of 12-15-year-olds in Erie County have received at least one dose of Pfizer vaccine.

“These are encouraging data, and the trends are definitely on track, especially since Pfizer vaccine has been available for 12-15-year-olds for a relatively short time,” said Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein. “This summer, parents can access Pfizer vaccine through many ECDOH clinics that will be in all parts of the county. Many of those will offer the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine for parents.”

She continued, “We are encouraging parents to take their children to their annual check-ups over the summer. That is a prime opportunity to talk to their child’s pediatrician about the benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine and any concerns they have about vaccine safety and effectiveness. The medical home is the best place for youth to get vaccinated.”

“We knew from the start that vaccinating hundreds of thousands of people in Erie County would be a long process,” explained Dr. Burstein. “After nearly six months we are seeing tremendous results as new daily confirmed cases and hospitalizations have plummeted. There is still much more to do, and our clinic plans have shifted to be more mobile, more flexible, and more accessible to areas of the county with the lowest rates of vaccination.”

From the most recent NYS data, 90% of 65-74-year-olds in Erie County had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, followed by 81% of people ages 80 and older, and 76% of 55-64-year-olds.

ECDOH has an active schedule of COVID-19 vaccination clinics, listed at www.erie.gov/vax, and will also vaccinate any eligible Erie County resident at their home. Call (716) 858-2929 for the “Vax Visit” program.

[Note: NYS COVID-19 Vaccination Demographics: Age Group data are as of 6/9/2021]

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• Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH), COVID-19 Vaccine : http://www.erie.gov/vax

• ECDOH, COVID-19 Information Line: (716) 858-2929 – foreign language interpretation available
• NYSDOH Vaccine Tracker: https://covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/covid-19-vaccine-tracker

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