White House releases plans to vaccinate 28 million kids aged 5-11 against Covid using smaller needles: Children could be fully vaccinated with double Pfizer shot before Christmas
The White House released its plans on Wednesday for vaccinating 28 million children between ages five and 11 against COVID-19.
In the next few weeks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to decide whether or not to authorize Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine in younger kids in the next few weeks, meaning children could be fully vaccinated by Christmas.
If the jab is authorized, the Biden administration's plan to immunize kids will look very different than the campaign to inoculate adults.
Child-size vials will be sent to providers across the country that can be kept in refrigerators along with smaller needles necessary for injecting young kids.
Children will be able to get the shot at their pediatrician's office or local pharmacy, and potentially even their school rather than mass immunization sites.
And children's hospitals will set up clinics on nights and weekends so mothers and fathers can vaccinate their kids after they get off of work.
'Parents know and trust children's hospitals to be there for their children's medical needs, and these vaccination efforts will be no different,' the White House said in a a statement.
'Pediatricians, pediatric specialists, nurses and team members will administer the vaccine to kids in trusted, family-friendly settings that serve kids every day.'
The White House released its plans on Wednesday for vaccinating children between ages five to 11 with the FDA expected to authorize Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 shot in younger kids over the next few weeks. Pictured: Lydia Melo, 7, is inoculated with one of two reduced 10 ug doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine during a trial at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina September 2021
White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zeints said on Wednesday (above) that children will be able to get vaccinated at pediatricians' offices and vaccination sites will be set up at children's hospitals on night and weekends
The Biden administration notes the nationwide campaign to vaccine schoolchildren will not look like the start of the country's vaccine rollout 10 months ago, when scarcity of doses and capacity issues meant a painstaking wait for many Americans.
The U.S. has purchased 65 million doses of the Pfizer pediatric shot - expected to be one third the dosage for adults and adolescents - according to officials.
More than 25,000 pediatricians and primary care providers have already signed on to administer COVID-19 vaccine shots to kids, the White House said.
Additionally, tens of thousands of retail pharmacies that are already administering shots to adults, will also be giving the shot to kids.
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 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.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy appeared on the TODAY show on Wednesday (above), saying he would leave the question of vaccine requirements for schools to local and state officials, but called them 'reasonable'
As has been the case for adult vaccinations, the administration believes trusted messengers - educators, doctors, and community leaders - will be vital to encouraging vaccinations.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Jeff Zients, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, said the Biden administration is planning a national public education campaign.
This includes schools send information home to parents, faith leaders distributing material and tool kits and creating forms for parents to ask questions.
A recent study found that children and adults contract COVID-19 at nearly even rates, though cases in kids are more likely to be asymptomatic.
Officials note that vaccination both dramatically reduces those chances and will reduce the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant in communities, contributing to the nation's broader recovery from the pandemic.
'COVID has also disrupted our kids lives. It's made school harder, it´s disrupted their ability to see friends and family, it's made youth sports more challenging,' U.S. surgeon general Dr Vivek Murthy told NBC's TODAY on Wednesday.
'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.'
Murthy said the administration, which is promoting employer vaccine mandates for adults, is leaving the question of requirements for schools to local and state officials, but called them 'reasonable.'
'Those are decisions on, when it comes to school requirements, that are made by localities and by states,' he told TODAY.
'You've seen already some localities and states talk about vaccine requirements for kids. And I think 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.'
The administration notes that kids who get their first shot within a couple weeks of the expected approval in early November will be fully vaccinated by Christmas.
The U.S. has purchased 65 million doses of the Pfizer pediatric shot - expected to be one third the dosage for adults and adolescents - according to officials.
They will ship in smaller packages of about 100 doses each, so that more providers can deliver them, and they can be stored for up to 10 weeks at standard refrigeration temperatures.
About 219 million Americans aged 12 and up, or 66 percent of the total population, have received a COVID-19 shot and nearly 190 million are fully vaccinated.
Pediatric cases increased from 71,726 per week at the beginning of August to more than 243,000 in September but have since declined to 130,000 last week
Pediatric cases increased from 71,726 per week at the beginning of August to more than 243,000 in September, fueled by the Delta variant.
However, they now appear to be trending downward with 130,000 reported last week, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
There have also been 520 pediatric deaths since the start of the pandemic, indicating children make up less than 0.1 percent of all deaths.
Currently, no evidence suggests the Delta variant is more dangerous in kids than previous strains of the virus.
Because of this low risk of severe illness, polls have shown that many parents are not inclined to vaccinate their children.
A July 2021 survey, conducted by CS Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at Michigan Medicine last month, found that 39 percent of parents said their children already gotten a coronavirus shot.
However, 40 percent of parents also said it was 'unlikely' that their children would be getting vaccinated.
Another poll from Axios/Ipsos in September found that 44 percent of parents of children aged five to 11 said their kids were likely to get a vaccine and 42 percent said it was unlikely their children would be immunized.
No comments