Florida Has Ordered Some 90,000 Doses Of COVID Vaccines For Young Kids

Florida Phoenix

FLORIDA — Florida has ordered an initial supply of pediatric COVID-19 vaccines for young kids ages 5 to 11, but not every county health department has received the smaller vials yet.

In an email to the Florida Phoenix this week, the Florida Department of Health said that “over 90,000 doses” of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for kids ages was ordered from the federal government and “are expected to be delivered this week.”

“These vaccines will be offered at health care providers, most retail pharmacies, and county health departments, and is expected to be widely available in Florida this week,” FDOH said.

In the Tampa Bay area, the doses are now available to young children who get parental consent at the Department of Health in Hillsborough County, said spokesman Kevin Watler. A vaccine site in that county had launched Wednesday for kids to receive their first dose and parents aren’t required to schedule an appointment.

Watler added that the pediatric vaccines are widely available at pharmacies, such as CVS and Publix, and shots are free.

“I can say so far the demand has not exceeded what community providers can handle,” Watler said in an email to the Phoenix on Thursday. “Most people can get appointments within a day or two at commercial pharmacies.”

Though certain school districts opened vaccine clinics on campuses earlier this week, some parents are hesitant to get their kids vaccinated.

An updated Kaiser Family Foundation report on Oct. 28 found that only 27 percent “are eager to get a (COVID) vaccine” for their children ages 5 to 11, “while a third say they will wait awhile to see how the vaccine is working.” About 30 percent will not get the vaccine.

The Pinellas County Health Department will begin offering the vaccines for that age group on Friday, according to a press release. And vaccine clinics will be launched in St. Petersburg, Pinellas Park and Clearwater.

Meanwhile, the state health department said in an email that “health care providers are now able to order the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11” through a website called Florida Shots.

According to CDC’s website, data show that “vaccination was nearly 91 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 among children aged 5-11 years.”

The doses for children ages 5 to 11 are different from vaccines approved for those 12 and older, as previously reported by the Phoenix. Smaller needles and doses are used for children below age 12.

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