‘We don’t want lines of kids’: White House says COVID vaccination plan for young children will look different than adult program

Amirah, 7, receives an injection of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital during a vaccine trial. Kids her age could soon be eligible for the shots. (Courtesy Cincinnati Children's Hospital)
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Since December of 2020, more than three-quarters of the United States’ 12-and-up population has received a vaccination for COVID, whether at a mass-vaccination site, a pop-up clinic or a local pharmacy.

But for kids between ages 5 and 11, who soon could be approved for the shots by the Food and Drug Administration, the process will look somewhat different.

The Biden Administration aims to inoculate those children with the help of 25,000 doctors’ offices, thousands of pharmacies, and hundreds of school and rural clinics, the New York Times said Wednesday.

On Oct. 7, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech announced they had asked the FDA to approve their vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11. FDA officials will meet on Oct. 26 to discuss the possibility, with a ruling coming in the days following. That would allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make its recommendation on the vaccine dose by early-November.

“We know millions of parents have been waiting for COVID-19 vaccine for kids in this age group,” White House COVID-19 response director Jeff Zients said Wednesday, according to CNN. “Should the FDA and [CDC] authorize the vaccine, we will be ready to get shots in arms.”

Sonya Bernstein, a senior policy adviser for the White House’s COVID Response Team, told the Times that if the shot is approved, the administration is ready to then provide funding and guidance to states on setting up vaccination sites and helping people get to their appointments.

The vaccination procedures will look and feel different than they were for adults who got the shots. Even the vaccine vials, the needles and the doses themselves will be shrunken for the young group of kids.

“We know that access is going to be critical here,” Bernstein told the Times. The White House, she added, is seeking a “kid-friendly experience that makes sure that we’re getting shots in arms with trusted providers in ways that makes parents feel comfortable.”

The 28 million kids between ages 5 and 11 won’t be queuing up at places like Gillette Stadium or Fenway Park in long waits for their shots. Instead, the administration wants to direct them to their pediatrician’s office, a children’s hospital or a clinic, such as those at pharmacies.

“We don’t want lines of kids,” Bernstein said, pointing out that children are more likely to get upset at the prospect of a shot. As the Times’ Katie Rogers put it, “Read: They cry.”

The administration has already secured enough vaccines to inoculate all 28 million kids ages 5 to 11, CNN said.

In addition to organizational efforts, the Department of Health and Human Services will hold a national campaign “to reach parents and guardians with accurate and culturally responsive information about the vaccine and the risks that COVID-19 poses to children.”

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