CA Prepares To Vaccinate Children 5 To 11

CALIFORNIA — One day after federal officials authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11, state officials announced that California is preparing sites to distribute 1.2 million shots to children aged 5 to 11 as soon as the end of next week.

Clinics, many of which will be set up on public school campuses, will be given the green light as soon as federal officials receive one last authorization from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state officials said Wednesday.

"Our youngest children have remained vulnerable to the highly contagious virus as older Californians have received their vaccine," Dr. Erica Pan, the state's top epidemiologist said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "Now the time is coming to protect them."

Vulnerable and older Californians will head to clinics to receive booster shots in coming weeks, and supply is not an issue in this rollout, officials said.

About 3.5 million children between the ages of 5 and 11 live in the state, the Times reported.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted on Tuesday to endorse doses of the Pfizer vaccine for children. Its panel found that child-sized doses of Pfizer vaccines appeared to be highly effective at preventing symptomatic infections.

One study of clinical data showed that Pfizer had a 90.7 percent efficacy at preventing COVID-19 in children 5 to 12 during a time when the delta variant was rampant in the U.S., according to Pfizer.

"I think a lot of parents wonder, well, 'Why?' COVID hasn't affected kids as much,"' Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state's top public health official, said at a Wednesday news briefing. "The truth is ...[COVID-19 is] among the top 10 killers of kids in the last year. CDC announced it is the eighth-leading killer of young people."

Across the U.S., 657 kids under the age of 18 have died from COVID-19, the CDC reported. In the Golden State, 37 children have died from the virus, according to the California Department of Public Health.

In August, California became the first state in the nation to require vaccination or weekly COVID-19 testing for all teachers and school employees. All students will also be required to get a vaccine as soon as January, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced earlier this month.

The rule, however, does ultimately leave the decision up to parents whether they would like to opt out for personal reasons, since the mandate comes from the governor's office and not the Legislature, EdSource reported.

"Ten vaccines have been required to send your kids to school for decades and decades — this is nothing new," Newsom said after receiving a Moderna booster shot at a news conference in Oakland.

In California, cases have fallen to a 2.2 percent positivity rate.

"It's also a stubborn fact that we were at 3.3 percent this time last year," Newsom said, adding that some 88 percent of Californians have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

This week, millions more Californians became eligible for a coronavirus booster shot as the state nears the one-year anniversary of its worst COVID-19 surge last winter.

The governor on Wednesday pleaded with eligible residents to get a booster shot to avoid a repeat of 2020's deadly winter spike.

"If you're eligible — get your booster," he tweeted earlier. "Protect yourself and loved ones this winter."

All people 65 and older, as well as residents 50 and older with underlying health conditions, became eligible for an additional dose on Friday. Those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine may also get a booster shot and will be able to receive any COVID-19 vaccine as a booster.

The additional shots were expected to become widely available to eligible residents in the Golden State this week.

The ability to mix and match different COVID-19 vaccines was also authorized this week.

The governor received a Moderna booster shot on Wednesday.

"I’m choosing not to do J&J today," he said. "Not because I had any problems with J&J — in fact, it went beautifully — but to make the point about the opportunity to mix and match."

READ MORE: CA Booster Shots: Millions Now Eligible For Another COVID-19 Dose