Dallas-Fort Worth coronavirus vaccine providers preparing to start giving doses to children as young as 12

With the expectation that a federal advisory committee will issue recommendations Wednesday for administering the two-dose Pfizer coronavirus vaccine to 12- to 15-year-olds, providers in North Texas are getting ready.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins announced that the county plans to begin administering shots Saturday to people in that age group.

The Pfizer vaccine hasn’t always been offered at all locations. For example, only the Moderna vaccine is available at the Potter’s House church in Mountain Creek, according to the county.

The county’s Fair Park location has been administering the Pfizer vaccine, as well as the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson varieties.

Appointments have not been required recently for first doses, but people can register at dallascounty.org, which officials have said will help speed the process.

By early April, 100,000 kids who weren’t yet eligible for the vaccines already had registered for them in Dallas County

Denton County said Monday that once the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices makes its recommendations, children 12 to 15 may sign up to receive doses.

People in Tarrant County can register for vaccines online, but Tarrant County Public Health noted Monday on Twitter that children 12-15 couldn’t begin coming right away for their shots because the final federal recommendations were pending.

WFAA-TV (Channel 8) reported that Collin County was still working out its plans, contacting school districts about deploying mobile teams to vaccinate student who sign up, and encouraging pediatricians to register as providers.

Both Walgreens and CVS have said more information will be coming soon about the vaccines’ availability to young people at their pharmacies.

“We’ll offer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children ages 12-15 once authorized for expanded use,” Walgreens announced.

Last week, in anticipation of the expansion, the Texas Department of State Health Services encouraged 3,000-plus pediatric health-care providers across the state to enroll in the COVID-19 vaccination program.

“Vaccinating adolescents will bring us closer to ending the pandemic and getting back to normal,” the agency’s commissioner, Dr. John Hellerstedt, said in a written statement.