Here’s What You Should Know About Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccines in Gainesville

• The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been approved and recommended for children aged 5 to 11 years.
• Alachua County Health Department plans to order 4,000 pediatric doses of COVID-19 next week.
• UF Health and local pharmacies will also provide cans.

Healthcare providers in Alachua County are preparing to give the COVID-19 vaccine to young children ages 5-11, the latest step in the fight against the pandemic.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was approved by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for this age group on Tuesday evening and the Food and Drug Administration approved it on October 29, bringing the vaccine recommendation to approximately 28 million children in the country was expanded.

CDC director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky said in a statement Tuesday that “along with science at the forefront of the prosecution, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus that causes COVID-19 … As a mother, I encourage parents with questions to speak to their pediatrician, school nurse, or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of vaccinating their children. “

Big pharmacies like Publix and CVS are expecting the first doses in some locations across the country this week.

Shannon Dillon, a spokeswoman for CVS Health, wrote in an email Tuesday evening: “As soon as the product arrives, our digital organizer will take appointments for business. It is highly recommended that you make an appointment at cvs.com or the specified CVS app for the expected demand for these important vaccinations. “

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Maria Brous, Publix’s communications director, said in a separate email on Tuesday that “Pfizer doses will be available for children ages 5-11 when selected pharmacies receive the vaccine in the next few days. again available.”

UF Health and the Alachua County Health Department also plan to offer the shots.

Health Department administrator Paul Myers told the Gainesville Sun Tuesday afternoon that the department initially plans to order 4,000 cans on Nov. 9 to support local school clinics and pediatrician practices.

Signed parental consent is required.

“The Department of Health is working with Alachua County public and private schools, UF Health, and other local pediatric agencies to prepare tentative vaccine delivery schedules for late November and early December,” Myers said. “With the same infrastructure that we used for our annual school flu clinics, which have generally served as the base for the nationwide COVID-19 mass vaccination clinics for nearly a year, we will be ready once the logistics for vaccines and informed consent forms are completed.” . “

Access to the vaccine through planned school clinics will be communicated through the child’s school, he added. Pediatric doses will be available from the health department by appointment. Families can call 352-334-8810 to make an appointment.

Ken Garcia, a spokesman for UF Health in Gainesville, said the health organization could start ordering pediatric cans next week.

“UF Health’s pharmacies and clinics will be ready as soon as the vaccines arrive,” he said. “Our pharmacy team at UF Health will ensure we have adequate supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine to our pediatric patients … We anticipate vaccines may be available by the week of November 15th, unless , the supply comes earlier. “

For children, appointments are required to get the syringes in clinics, while pharmacies, according to Garcia, accept walk-in customers. UF Health will provide consent forms.

Pediatric vials contain one-third the dose as the equivalent for teenagers and adults, the spokesman said. They are a different color and are not interchangeable, according to Myers, and adult doses cannot be diluted into pediatric doses.

Children are advised to receive two doses three weeks apart, as per CDC guidelines.

Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, professor in the Pediatrics and Epidemiology Departments at UF College of Medicine and College of Public Health and Health Professions, said in a Q&A published by the university on Wednesday that children are still prone to serious illnesses from COVID-19, especially those with underlying conditions like obesity, diabetes, and asthma.

“The most important reason for getting the vaccine is to reduce the risk of serious illness or death,” she said. It also protects against long-term COVID and the spread of the virus to other people at risk like grandparents.

For the vaccine to be approved, it means it has been rigorously tested and proven to be safe and effective, the doctor said. Side effects can include a sore arm, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, or fever, and usually go away in a day or two.

“These are signs that the immune system is responding to the vaccine,” Rasmussen said, “so it is ready to fight COVID-19 in the future.”

The post Here’s What You Should Know About Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccines in Gainesville first appeared on Daily Florida Press.

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