White House announces plans to vaccinate 28 million kids ages 5 to 11 against COVID
The White House laid out a detailed plan on Wednesday for vaccinating some 28 million children ages 5 to 11 who are expected to soon become eligible to get the lifesaving shots.
The federal plan includes distributing smaller needles and kiddie-sized doses of the Pfizer vaccine to pediatricians’ offices, drug stores and even schools from coast to coast.
“Getting our kids vaccinated, we have the prospect of protecting them, but also getting all of those activities back that are so important to our children,” said Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.
Federal regulators will meet over the next two weeks to weigh the benefits of giving shots to kids, after lengthy studies designed to ensure the vaccines are safe and effective.
The White House says it’s poised to start getting shots into younger children’s arms within a matter of hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to give the green light at an advisory meeting scheduled for Nov. 2-3.
The Biden administration says it has ample supply of the Pfizer shot for the children’s doses. More than 25,000 pediatricians and primary care providers have already signed on to give vaccinations to kids, as well as the tens of thousands of retail pharmacies that are already administering vaccines to adolescents and adults.
Hundreds of school and community-based clinics will also be funded and supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help speed putting shots into little arms.
The White House is also preparing to mobilize a stepped-up campaign to educate parents and kids about the safety of the shots and the ease of getting them.
Trusted messengers including educators, doctors, and community leaders wyill be vital to encouraging vaccinations of kids, officials say.
Children who get their first shot within a couple weeks of the expected approval in early November will be fully vaccinated by Christmas, easing worries about holiday family gatherings.
While children are at lower risk than older people of having serious side effects from COVID-19, vaccination of kids reduces the spread in households and wider communities, contributing to the recovery from the pandemic.
Murthy said the administration supports the idea of requiring children to get vaccinated against COVID to attend school, although those decisions would likely be left to local and state authorities.
“It’s a reasonable thing to consider to get those vaccination rates high. And it’s also consistent with what we’ve done for other childhood vaccines, like measles, mumps, polio.”
With News Wire Services
