Print article The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids as young as 12. That means that 40,000 more Alaskans will likely be able get vaccinated as soon as Wednesday, pending final approval from the CDC, health officials say. Since March, anyone 16 and older who lives and works in the state has had access to at least one of the three free COVID-19 vaccines currently available, and over half of those have received at least one dose. “We are ecstatic that it has an emergency use authorization, and that we can have more Alaskans protected from COVID-19,” Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s chief medical officer, said Monday. “While children tend to do very well with COVID — they tend to be asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, we still see kids get sick, we still see kids hospitalized, and we know that they can spread it to adults,” she said.