COVID-19 Vaccine For Kids Under 12: Where To Get One In Florida

FLORIDA — Federal health officials have given the go-ahead to COVID-19 vaccinations for Florida children ages 5 to 11, setting off a new, long-awaited phase in the battle against the pandemic.

The CDC authorization for younger children makes more than 1.6 million Florida kids immediately eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for elementary school-aged children, paving the way for inoculations for some 28 million youths across the country.

"Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation's fight against the virus that causes COVID-19," Walensky said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already granted emergency use authorization. You can book appointments beginning Saturday at Walgreens and Sunday at CVS across Florida. Select Publix locations will offer the vaccine to younger kids soon, as well.

Florida's online vaccine locator can be found here, though it doesn’t indicate which sites offer children’s vaccinations.

Related Story: 'No' To Student COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate: FL Patch Survey

With CDC approval, doctors, medial facilities, hospital systems and health departments throughout the state are preparing to vaccinate younger children.

In South Florida, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and Nicklaus Children’s Hospital pre-ordered shots in anticipation of the vaccine’s approval for kids 5 to 11. Eventually, about 40 school sites in Miami-Dade County will offer the shot, as well. Like many facilities, though, they haven’t received the doses, yet.

A federal spokesperson said the U.S.’s COVID-19 vaccination program for kids should be fully operational by Nov. 8, according to Local 10 News.

The vaccine approved for children 5 to 11 is a third of the amount given to those 12 and older — just two low doses, given three weeks apart, totaling 10 micrograms, according to NPR.

President Joe Biden’s administration has already purchased 26 million doses of Pfizer for children 5 to 11, reports said. That’s enough to vaccinate every child in the U.S. within this age range.

“Facilities are waiting for the vaccine supply to come in so we start vaccinating those individuals,” Dr. Marcos Mestre, chief medical officer at Nicklaus, said.

Brian McKee, director of pharmacy at Joe DiMaggio, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel, “We think with school back in session and the holidays and travel, people are starting to be open to vaccines for their kids under 11. There is good data to support that it decreases the prevalence of transmission. Now more than last year when the first surge occurred, parents are open to it because of the delta variant.”

In a recent Patch survey, nearly 57 percent of more than 1,800 respondents said they wouldn’t get their children under 12 vaccinated once the shot was approved for their age range. Only about 38 percent of those who responded said they’d have their kids inoculated against coronavirus.

A Tampa Bay area pediatrician, Dr. Nancy Silva who runs Small World Pediatrics in Wesley Chapel, stressed that the vaccine is safe for children 5 to 11 years old, even if they have a preexisting condition.

She told WTSP that parents shouldn’t be worried about their kids experiencing myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, or other side effects after getting the vaccine.

“If you have a preexisting condition then get COVID, you’re more likely to get myocarditis with that as well, so we still recommend it," Dr. Silva said.

Pfizer submitted data to the federal government showing that its vaccine is safe and 90.7 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19 in children.

CVS Health on Wednesday said the pharmacy chain's 1,700 locations nationwide — including select sites in Florida — are now accepting appointments for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 pediatric vaccine to children ages 5 to 11.

Vaccines will be available beginning Sunday, upon receipt and confirmation of vaccine supply. Parental or legal guardian consent is required, and children must be accompanied by an adult.

"We know many parents have been waiting for the opportunity to vaccinate their young children and are looking for convenient access to a trusted resource for vaccinations," said Dr. Troyen A. Brennan, executive vice president and chief medical officer of CVS Health, in a news release. "Our immunizers have been preparing for this important role, and stand ready to help answer parents' questions, guide them and their children through the process, and administer the vaccines safely, with kindness and caring."