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CVS and Walgreens announced they would begin offering vaccinations for 12- to 15-year olds on Thursday.

Parental or legal guardian consent is required to receive the vaccine and children must be accompanied by an adult. Both companies encouraged people to make appointments.

\"PHOTO:
Ron Harris/AP
PHOTO: Middle school student Elise Robinson waits with her mother, Anya Robinson, for her first coronavirus vaccination on May 12, 2021, in Decatur, Ga.
>

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky signed off on the recommendation later Wednesday, meaning that vaccinating children as young as 12 is now the official recommendation by the nation's top public health experts.

While health experts said it's rare for children to get very sick with COVID-19, there is still a risk. Also, officials hope adolescent vaccinations will help lower the risk of transmission, as classrooms and summer camps both look towards reopening.

It comes as children now make up 22% of recent COVID-19 cases in the nation, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association report.

\"PHOTO:
Christopher Aluka Berry/Reuters
PHOTO: Registered Medical Assistant Melissa Dalton inoculates a teenager with the Pfizer vaccine against coronavirus disease after Georgia authorized the vaccine for children over 12 years old, at Dekalb Pediatric Center in Decatur, Ga., May 11, 2021.
>

Pfizer's clinical trials have shown their vaccine safe and 100% effective in children ages 12-15, aligning with the 95% efficacy among adult clinical trial participants. Among the more than 1,000 adolescents who received the vaccine, there were no cases of COVID-19 recorded; there were 16 cases among the 978 participants who got the placebo.

On safety, clinical evidence showed no current safety concerns for these children receiving this two-dose vaccine, with side effects similar to those observed in adults -- like a sore arm at the injection site, fatigue and headache, which should stop within a few days of getting the shot.

Children who are fully vaccinated would be able to follow the updated guidance for vaccinated people from the CDC. That includes not having to wear masks outdoors unless in a crowded venue and not having to quarantine if there is a known exposure.

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