White House Unveils COVID Vaccination Plans For Children Age 5-11
WASHINGTON (CBS SF/AP) -- There was good news early Wednesday for San Francisco Bay Area parents who have been patiently awaiting the green light to have their young school age children vaccinated against COVID.
The White House released it's detailed plans for the expected authorization of the Pfizer shot for younger children coming in a matter of weeks.
Children age 5 to 11 will soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot at their pediatrician's office, local pharmacy and potentially even their school.
Federal regulators will meet over the next two weeks to weigh the benefits of giving shots to kids, after lengthy studies meant to ensure the safety of the vaccines.
Within hours of formal approval, expected after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory meeting scheduled for Nov. 2-3, doses will begin shipping to providers across the country, along with smaller needles necessary for injecting young kids, and within days will be ready to go into the arms of kids on a wide scale.
"We're completing the operational planning to ensure vaccinations for kids ages 5-11 are available, easy and convenient," said White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients on Wednesday.
The Biden administration notes the nationwide campaign to extend the protection of vaccination to the school-going cohort 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 country now has ample supplies of the Pfizer shot to vaccinate the roughly 28 million kids who will soon be eligible, White House officials said, and have been working for months to ensure widespread availability of shots once approved.
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