Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine For Kids Rolling Out But Many Parents Remain Hesitant
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The CDC has given its final okay for about 28 million grade school children to get Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine.
The shot, now authorized for 5 to 11-year-olds, is one-third the size of an adult dose, with different-colored packaging and a smaller needle.
Dr. Marcos Mestre, the Chief Medical Officer at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that the hospital is waiting on supplies before administering the vaccines and hopes to have them by the end of the week or by early next week.
"We do know that these vaccines are safe and effective and protect children from getting the Coronavirus and from spreading it so it is important that they get vaccinated," said Mestre. He also urged parents not to hesitate in getting the vaccine for their children. He said those in that age group would be receiving an inoculation that has one-third of the dosage that those 12 and older get.
"I can understand the hesitancy of some parents," he said. "But the side effects have been very limited and sometimes involve fever but the vaccine dose is very safe.
Dr. Mestre said the vaccines once available would be administered to those walking up to the hospital between 7 am and 630 pm on Tuesday and Thursday and every Saturday between 8 am and 130 pm. No appointments are necessary.
Gerald Greenberg said he hoped to get his 9-year-old daughter vaccinated. "It is a matter of protecting her and the vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective."
Greenberg said his daughter will probably be vaccinated after she turns 12 on Friday. He said his 14-year-old son had already been vaccinated.
At Sunset Elementary School in South Miami, as parents lined up in their cars to pick up their children Wednesday afternoon, Tania Mazzucchelli said she would talk to her pediatrician and planned to get her 6-year-old daughter and son vaccinated.
"I want to make sure my twins are safe," she said. "And this will protect them. I mean how many people have been hospitalized nationwide?"
Another parent named Maria Perdomo, who also has 6-year-old twins, said, "I want to wait and see what happened and make sure there are no side effects before my children get the shot."
Another parent named Lily, the mother of children who are 6 and 9 years old, said "I want to wait for some time, maybe until January, to make sure everything is ok."
Millions of doses have already been packaged and shipped around the country from Pfizer's distribution site in Wisconsin, ready for pediatricians and pharmacies to use immediately.
Walgreens announced Wednesday that they will begin administering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11 in thousands of stores nationwide beginning Saturday, Nov. 6.
Parents or legal guardians can schedule an appointment by visiting Walgreens.com/ScheduleVaccine, the Walgreens app or calling 1-800-Walgreens.
A spokeswoman for CVS pharmacies told CBS4 that CVS would start administering its doses on Saturday and parents could make appointments for their children through CVS.COM.
Spokeswomen for the Holtz Children's Hospital in Miami and Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood said that they too are waiting for supplies and so far no inoculations have been scheduled.
The CDC said every million doses given to children ages 5 to 11 would prevent about 58,000 cases and 226 hospitalizations in that group.
But there is some hesitancy.
A Kaiser Family Foundation poll found only 27 percent of parents say they will vaccinate their kids right away. Thirty percent say they will definitely not vaccinate their kids at all. And 33 percent say they'll wait and see how it's working, before making a decision.
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Consider this, there have been nearly two million COVID infections among kids ages 5 to 11 and roughly 170 kids in that age group have died. Just a couple of things to think about as you decide whether or not the shot is right for your child.
Federal authorities say nationwide, 8,300 children have been hospitalized with COVID since the start of the pandemic and 2,316 youngsters have developed multi-system inflammatory s syndrome.