Kids 5-11 Can Get COVID-19 Vaccine At Camden County Health Hub

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Families in Camden County can get their 5- to 11-year-olds vaccinated against COVID-19 at the Camden County Health Hub in Gloucester Township as of Thursday, county officials announced.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved emergency use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday. Read more here: NJ Ready As CDC Approves Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine For Kids 5-11

The hours for the health hub, which has been set up at the Camden County College Blackwood campus, have been expanded to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for Thursday and Friday to incorporate the new age group, officials said.

Next week, the administration of the vaccine for children and regular Health Hub operational hours will be expanded to 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The expansion will provide the ability to add hundreds of new appointments throughout the day, officials said.

“This is another important tool for our families to use to stop the spread of this virus in our community,” Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli, Jr. said. “The advent and approval of the Pfizer vaccine may be one of the most important developments in our continuing fight against this insidious disease and will get us one step closer to a post-pandemic world. It should be noted we continue to see COVID spread in our case counts amongst kids, so this new resource should be a game changer.”

The vaccine is administered by the Camden County Board of Commissioners, in partnership with Cooper University Health Care and the Rutgers-Camden School of Nursing. Appointments can be made by visiting https://www.cooperhealth.org/ or calling 856-549-0530.

On Tuesday, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, director of the CDC, endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' recommendation that children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine.

That now expands vaccine recommendations to about 28 million children in the United States in this age group and allows providers to begin vaccinating them as soon as possible.

“The CDC and the New Jersey Department of Health are recommending the Pfizer vaccine for younger children, which clinical trials have shown to be effective to prevent severe infection, and we are happy to be able to provide the vaccine to protect families and, hopefully, bring this pandemic to an end,” Cooper co-CEO Anthony J. Mazzarelli said.

Pfizer is currently the only approved vaccine for children under the age of 18. The Camden County Health Hub provides all brands of the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as third doses and boosters for eligible residents over the age of 18.

Appointments can be made by visiting www.CamdenCountyVaccine.com. COVID-19 vaccinations and testing are distributed by appointment only.

The Camden County Health Hub was built in two phases. The first phase opened on Oct. 14, and is administering first and second doses of Moderna, Pfizer and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines. It also includes booster doses for all three vaccines for eligible members of the population, and third doses of Moderna and Pfizer. Phase two will now encompass a pediatric component, officials said Thursday morning.

With reporting by Karen Wall, Patch Staff