Thousands of Kids 5 to 11 Already Received a COVID Vaccine

Nov. 4, 2021 — Thousands of youngsters between the ages of 5 and 11 have already obtained a COVID-19 vaccine, lower than 2 days because the pictures have been licensed.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday referred to as the vaccine approval “a giant step forward to further accelerate our path out of this pandemic.”

“For parents all over this country, this is a day of relief and celebration,” he stated. “After almost 18 months of anxious worry every time your child had a sniffle or started to cough, well, you can now protect them from this horrible virus.”

Late Tuesday, the CDC gave approval for this age group — made up of greater than 28 million kids — to get two doses of the Pfizer shot, at one-third of an grownup dose.

Pfizer research present that its vaccine is 90.7% efficient in stopping COVID-19 in youngsters ages 5 to 11. None of the youngsters who have been studied have had any critical unwanted effects, in line with Pfizer knowledge posted by the FDA.

Swift Action

Texas Children’s Hospital, the most important kids’s hospital within the nation, is one COVID-19 vaccine supplier that has hit the bottom working in efforts to vaccinate the newly eligible age group.

The hospital started giving COVID-19 pictures to 5- to 11-year-olds at 7 a.m. Wednesday.

The kids have been welcomed with balloons, stickers, and help canines to assist ease any fears.

James Versalovic, MD, COVID-19 command co-leader and pathologist-in-chief at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, described the environment as “joyful.”

“It’s clear that parents are relieved that the day has arrived,” he stated. “Just seeing it on their faces, and seeing the children come throughout the day, they are eager as well to get vaccinated. Certainly, we haven’t had to twist any arms.”

Versalovic says hospital employees are simply as delighted as mother and father, particularly after the extremely transmissible Delta variant wreaked havoc on this age group over the summer season.

“It allows us to accomplish the mission of prevention of COVID-19 in children under 12 for the first time in this pandemic,” he stated.

“The Delta surge has had a tremendous impact on children because they were fully unvaccinated under the age of 12, so they were totally vulnerable.”

The hospital says it has already scheduled practically 39,000 vaccine appointments for youths ages 5 to 11 from now by Thanksgiving.

Numerous COVID-19 vaccine suppliers throughout the nation are additionally making ready to supply pictures to this new age group within the coming days.

Children’s Hospital Colorado will companion with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to host the primary of recurring COVID-19 vaccine clinics for 5- to 11-year-olds this Friday.

Pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens have additionally begun scheduling COVID-19 vaccine appointments for kids.

“The arrival of vaccines for kids truly is a landmark moment,” U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, stated at a White House briefing Wednesday.

“Ultimately, we want every child in our country to be saved from COVID and to be able to get back to their lives — sleepovers and birthday parties, school plays, soccer games, visits with friends and grandparents, and so much more.”

Rollout Will Accelerate

The vaccine rollout might be “fully up and running” early subsequent week, with over 20,000 vaccine suppliers planning to provide pictures to this new age group, in line with White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients.

The White House is taking measures to make sure mother and father have entry to the correct details about the brand new kid-size vaccines.

“We are setting up forums and town halls to answer parent questions, including a town hall this Sunday by dozens of faith communities,” Murthy stated. “We’re also working with medical groups to encourage doctors to talk to their patients about the vaccine and to appear on local media outlets.”

Murthy additionally warned mother and father to be careful for vaccine misinformation floating round on-line.

“Many parents are already seeing inaccurate claims on social media, text threads, and in their inboxes,” he stated.

“I believe every parent has a right to the facts, so they can make decisions for their children based on accurate scientific information,” Murthy stated. “I’m asking parents to please seek answers from credible sources — their doctor, their local hospital, the local health department, or the CDC.”

He famous that he and his spouse might be taking their 5-year-old son to get a COVID-19 vaccine within the coming days.

“We will be so grateful that we can more confidently send him out into the world, knowing that he has strong protection against COVID-19.”

Staff author Damian McNamara contributed to this story.