BREAKING: The Food and Drug Administration plans to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds as early as next week, federal officials said.

Currently, the Pfizer vaccine is the only one approved for minors, and even then, only for those 16 and older.

The news comes more than a month after Pfizer announced its vaccine had a perfect efficacy rate among 12 to 15-year-olds –– zero out of the 2,260 subjects in the trial reported symptomatic infections or serious side effects. 

Santa Clara County has been swift in adopting federal guidelines surrounding COVID-19. According to the CDC, as of Monday, the United States has 31 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine ready for use.

The FDA has yet to officially announce their approval of the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds, but the news has been long-awaited by both parents and students. Freshman Meredith Glasson, 15, said she is especially eager to receive her first dose. 

“I’m really excited,” Glasson said. “My sister got vaccinated already, and she’s only one year older than me. It doesn’t really make sense why 15 is so different.” 

For many students, getting vaccinated may affect their decision to return to school in person too. Although Glasson said she is already attending in-person school four days a week, she said she would feel safer after getting the shot.

“It’ll definitely make (returning) easier,” Glasson said. “I’ll feel more comfortable going out with the vaccine.”

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.