CONNECTICUT, USA — Connecticut is ready to vaccinate some of its youngest population after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave emergency use authorization for kids 5-11 years old to get the Pfizer vaccine.
Gov. Ned Lamont announced Tuesday, shortly after CDC clearance, that the vaccine is now available for these children.
The governor said this rollout is critical for schools, not just for protecting kids but also for family, teachers and school staff.
Hartford HealthCare started vaccinating children ages 5-11 at Hartford Hospital on Tuesday evening.
Yale New Haven Hospital also announced that vaccines will be available at their locations. Sign up here. The following locations will provide vaccinations through the hospital:
- 226 Mill Hill Ave., Bridgeport, CT 06610
- Scranton Building, 200 Orchard St., New Haven, CT 06511
- NEMG Walk-In Care, 4A Devine St., North Haven, CT 06473
- NEMG Walk-In Care, 194 Howard St., New London, CT 06320
- Greenwich Hospital, 5 Perryridge Rd., Noble Conference Center, Greenwich, CT 06830
"We estimate that about 277,630 children between ages 5 and 11 live in Connecticut, and our partners are ready and able to begin administering the vaccines to this age group. The date is clear: This vaccine is safe for kids and it works," said Lamont in a tweet Tuesday night.
Kid-sized doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine cleared two final hurdles Tuesday — a recommendation from CDC advisers followed by a green light from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“There are children in the second grade who have never experienced a normal school year,” Walensky said. “Pediatric vaccination has the power to help us change all of that.”
Thousands of pediatricians pre-ordered doses, and Pfizer began shipments soon after the Food and Drug Administration’s decision Friday to authorize emergency use. Pfizer said it expects to make 19,000 shipments totaling about 11 million doses in the next several days, and that millions more will be available to order on a weekly basis.
The vaccine — one-third the dose given to older children and adults and administered with kid-sized needles — requires two doses three weeks apart, plus two more weeks for full protection to kick in. That means children who get vaccinated before Thanksgiving will be covered by Christmas.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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