Kids COVID Vaccine In MA: New Timeline, Rollout Plan

MASSACHUSETTS — Young children in Massachusetts could be fully vaccinated by Christmas if the federal government's plan stays on track.

The White House said Wednesday it is working with states to be ready to hit the ground running after regulators give an expected green light to Pfizer's vaccine for children between the ages of 5 and 11.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a meeting scheduled for Nov. 2-3, and millions of doses are ready to be shipped around the country — including to Massachusetts — within hours of approval.

"Our planning efforts mean that we will be ready to begin getting shots in arms in the days following a final CDC recommendation," the White House said in a statement.

The CDC approval would instantly make nearly 900,000 Massachusetts children eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. The government's plan would make the vaccine available at doctor offices, pharmacies and potentially even schools.

Previously on Patch:

• Most MA Parents Will Vaccinate Younger Kids After FDA OK: Survey
• MA Could Vaccinate Younger Children Within A Month
• National Guard Activated For School Covid Testing In MA

This month, state governors were told to expect to begin vaccinating children ages 5 to 11 in early November. The 65 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine intended for the age group - a total amount enough to inoculate 28 million individuals - have already been procured by the Biden administration, according to a statement. The White House also added that it informed providers that, within a week of FDA approval, the vaccine (packaged in 10-dose vials in cartons of 10 vials each, delivered in a "newly updated product shipper") would be delivered to thousands of sites.

Upon approval, vaccination clinics at doctors' offices, hospitals, pharmacies, community health centers and in-school sites are slated to offer the smaller dose of the vaccine intended for children, with the administration adding that over 25,000 pediatric and primary care sites will provide shots.

The needles and vials used to administer and store the vaccine will both be smaller, with the children's dose to contain 10 micrograms (rather than the 30-microgram dose used for individuals over the age of 12). These vials can be stored for up to 10 weeks at regular refrigeration temperatures and up to six months in colder conditions.

The vaccine will also be administered in two shots given 21 days apart.

Pfizer tested its COVID vaccine on 2,268 children in the 5-11 age group, announcing on Sept. 20 that the vaccine showed positive results when children were given a third of the dose that was given to adults.

Read more: Pfizer Says Low COVID Vaccine Dose Is Good For Kids 5 To 11

The children demonstrated a strong immune response one month after the second dose, said Pfizer in a statement. Further, the COVID-19 vaccine was well tolerated, with side effects generally comparable to those observed in participants 16 to 25 years old.

Study results from the infant and toddler trial are expected to come sometime in November or December.

The 5- to 11-year old age group boasts roughly 11 million more individuals than the 12-to-15 age group, according to the New York Times. The latter group has been eligible for the Pfizer vaccine since May.

Per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, hospitalizations and COVID-19 related deaths are uncommon in children, though experts still warn of serious complications that could arise in the long-term.

"Millions of adolescents ages 12-17 have been safely vaccinated, and we know vaccines work. Fully vaccinated individuals are 10 times less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 and have a high degree of protection, including against the Delta variant," the White House said in a statement. "The consequences of a pediatric COVID-19 case can be serious and potentially last months."

Thousands of children have been hospitalized with COVID-related complications since 2020. Of the 73 million children in the U.S., over 5 million have tested positive for COVID and around 650 have died of COVID-19, according to the CDC.

"The good news continues to be that this is not a common problem for kids," said Dr. Daniel Rauch, chief of pediatric hospital medicine at Tufts Children's Hospital in Boston, told USA Today.

"The bad news is kids are not immune to this."