Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

About 10% of Nevada children 12 to 15 have received COVID vaccine

Vaccine Available to 12-15 year olds

Steve Marcus

Erick Martinez, 15, sits in a waiting area with his father after his vaccination at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s South Hall Thursday, May 13, 2021. The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is now available for 12 to 15-year-olds.

About 18,000 Nevada children between the ages of 12 and 15 have received at least one COVID-19 shot since the Pfizer vaccine was approved for their age group in May.

So far, about 10% of Nevada children in the 12 to 15 age group have received their first shot. The Pfizer vaccine requires two shots administered three weeks apart.

About 70% of the young recipients were in Clark County and 23% in Washoe County, the state’s two population centers. The other 7% were in the state’s 15 rural counties.

The Southern Nevada Health District opened a series of pop-up clinics this week at valley middle and high schools. Clinics will rotate through 16 schools this month.

Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urged vaccinations for adolescents and masks for teens until they are fully vaccinated.

“I strongly encourage parents to get their teens vaccinated, as I did mine,” she said Thursday.