The COVID-19 pandemic is particularly stressful and unpredictable. It has left many people powerless, no longer in control of their own lives. Companies have been through trial and error trying to make a vaccine and, finally, Pfizer has made a vaccine for ages 16 and older. A vaccine for teens still hadn’t been created, until now.

     On Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at 6:45 am, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that the vaccine has been approved to be used on ages 16 and older for emergency use and is safe for ages 12 to 15. According to U.S. News & World Report, they say Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine results from a clinical trial was 100% effective and tolerated by teens.

     Volunteers from ages 12 to 15 triggered a strong antibody response one month after the necessary second dose. More people in the 16 to 25 age group had the antibody response. Pfizer and BioNTech said, “BNT162b2 administration was well tolerated, with side effects generally consistent with those observed in participants 16 to 25 years of age.” Teens also developed side effects that were similar to the ones ages 16 to 25 had. U.S. News & World Report says “common side effects include soreness on the injection site, fatigue, and fever.”

     Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer says, “We plan to submit these data to FDA as a proposed amendment to our Emergency Use Authorization in the coming weeks and to other regulators around the world, with the hope of starting to vaccinate this age group before the start of the next school year.” Pfizer and BioNTech are experimenting on COVID-19 vaccines for 3 age groups: ages 5 to 11, 2 to 5, and 6 months to 2 years old.

     COVID-19 has been a problem for way too long. Now Pfizer, BioNTech, and other companies are conducting experiments and trials to make vaccines for all ages. Hopefully, things will get better and go back to how they used to be.