Colorado kids 6 months to 5 years begin to get COVID vaccines

A COVID vaccine for the youngest Coloradans will be available this week. The FDA gave final approval over the weekend for children ages 6 months to 5 years to get the vaccine. 

The Food and Drug Administration greenlighted the Moderna and Pfizer kid shots on Friday and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended them Saturday. In the U.S., COVID-19 vaccines were first tested and given in late 2020 to health care workers and older adults. Teens and school-age kids were added last year.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said the vaccines for that age group will be delivered in waves starting Monday. As many as 269 providers across the state have placed orders for those doses.

Colorado has been allocated to receive more than 31,000 doses of both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for both of the first two waves of distribution.

The CDPHE said for vaccines, they rely on pediatric and family practice clinics, community health centers, some retail pharmacies, hospitals and more. Some of those providers will distribute the vaccine to the youngest age group.

"We don't know everything that there is to be known about this. Yes, the data may change. But we have a bottom line here, which is that this infection kills children and we have an opportunity to prevent that," said Dr. Beth Bell with the CDC Advisory Committee.

Children between the ages of 5-11 have been eligible to receive the vaccines since November of last year but the CDC said that less than 30% of that age group are fully vaccinated.

The CDPHE recommends that parents and caregivers talk to their doctor about the vaccines and how to schedule an appointment.