COVID-19 vaccines are now available for children ages 5 – 11 and Alaska is taking steps aimed at helping to keep parents informed concerning COVID-19 vaccines in kids ages 5 – 11. With eligibility expanded to the younger age group, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services website includes Five Reasons To Vaccinate document for parents and families to read, including what to expect before, during, and after vaccination.
Kids across the country have already started to roll up their sleeves for a shot and some Kenai Peninsula pharmacies have begun administering pediatric COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5 – 11.
Dr. Anne Zink, Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer, covered the recent announcement on Wednesday’s Public Health Science ECHO:
“In the big news for today is that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved. It’s gone through all of these FDA as well as CDC approval processes for the 5–11-year-old age group. Both the FDA as well as the CDC group unanimously approved the use of the vaccine for children in the 5-11 age group. They looked at the risk of COVID to the actual kids. They also looked at the risk to the community and they looked at risk of the vaccination. With all of those factors weighing them, they felt as though they were incredibly safe and efficacious. Remember, we have one of the most robust systems in the world to look at the safety and efficacy of vaccines. I saw a great analysis the other day looking at vaccines compared to car seats and, in fact, vaccines for this age group and the data that we have right now shows that they are just as effective, if not more effective than a car seat. They’re not perfect. Car seats aren’t perfect either, but we buckle up our kids when we put them in the car and these are an amazing tools to help minimize the risk to our children overall. If you’re having trouble looking for a vaccine sight, feel free to give our call line a call. I know that there were some challenges this morning in identifying sites. I apologize for that.”
The Kenai Public Health Center, Soldotna Walgreens and Deni’ina Wellness Center all have the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in stock for children ages 5 – 11. Contact those locations for appointment availability. Soldotna Professional Pharmacy told KSRM that they currently don’t have the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children, but that they hope to in the near future.
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