Putnam Hosts Child COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics

BREWSTER, NY—Saying most recent coronavirus clusters in Putnam have been in schools and daycare centers, county health officials have scheduled four upcoming clinics for vaccinating children aged 5-11.

Most recent clusters of COVID-19 cases in the county have been where children gather, health officials said. The most affected school districts last month were Mahopac and Putnam Valley.

In Mahopac 35 students and 11 teachers tested positive as of Oct. 10, with the biggest group at Lakeview Elementary, and only Fulmar Road Elementary had no cases reported, according to the New York State school COVID-19 report card. In Putnam Valley, 63 students and teachers were reported testing positive as of Nov. 9, most at Putnam Valley High School.

Carmel reported 49 students and teachers as of Nov. 9, most at the middle and high school. Lakeland reported 80, most at the middle school. Brewster reported 19 as of Oct. 28. Haldane reported 8 and Garrison reported 2, according to the state report card.

Putnam health officials said the benefits for vaccinated children go beyond protection from infection. Fully vaccinated students of all ages who remain asymptomatic are not required to quarantine if exposed to a classmate or other person who tests positive, allowing them to continue attending school and other activities.

About 6,000 Putnam residents are in the 5-11 age group, county officials said.

"Now, these young children have the chance to join the more than 73,000 residents who have already received their first doses," said Kathleen Percacciolo, RN, supervising public health nurse. "One day COVID vaccination will become as routine as other childhood immunizations."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for elementary-schoolers Oct. 29, paving the way for inoculations for some 28 million children across the country.

For children ages 5 - 11, New York state has only run a small, 12-week "pop-up" vaccination program called VaxToSchool. Parents and guardians looking to schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments are encouraged to contact their child's pediatrician, family physician, local county health department, community-based health center, or pharmacies that may be administering the vaccine for this age group, state officials said online.

“We are working closely with our local pediatricians in this phase of vaccination,” Percacciolo said. "Putnam pediatricians have been and continue to be the lead vaccine providers for children."

The Putnam County Health Department will offer opportunities in the afternoons of Nov. 18 and 23 and Dec. 9 and 14.

Clinics will run from 2 to 4:30 p.m. in Carmel and in Philipstown.

Children vaccinated at the first clinic in Carmel Plaza on Nov. 18 can receive their second shot on Dec. 9 in Carmel and be fully protected before Christmas Day, county officials said.

The clinics on Nov. 23 and Dec. 14 will be held at the Philipstown Recreation Center — setting up "full protection by New Year’s Eve," officials said.

Online registration and further information will be shared on the health department’s social media platforms and posted on its webpage.

In addition to providing first shots for these children, the PCDOH will offer booster shots and third doses to eligible adults at the clinics.

Eligibility depends on which shot was initially received. Anyone who received Moderna or Pfizer is eligible for a booster if they are 65 years and older, or 18 years and older and have certain health conditions, or live or work in a high-risk setting. Those people must wait at least six months after their second dose.

Residents who are 12 and older with weakened immune systems (for example from cancer treatments) are eligible for a third dose if it is at least two months from their last shot. If it has been over two months, they are eligible for a booster.

People who received the Johnson & Johnson shot, and are 18 and older, should get a booster if at least two months have passed since their shot.

Booster and third doses are technically different and may vary clinically in the dosage, county officials said.

The 5- to 11-year-olds will receive the Pfizer vaccine in two doses, spaced three weeks apart. Each of the two doses for the younger group will be equal to one-third the amount given to people 12 years of age and older.

While it is true that children have a lower risk than adults for hospitalization and death due to the virus, and for continuing post-COVID infection symptoms, pediatric illness has accounted for a higher proportion of cases in the most recent surge driven by the more easily transmitted Delta variant, Putnam health officials said.

The safety of the vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds has been studied in more than 3,000 children and no serious side effects were detected in these clinical trials. Additionally, the vaccine proved to be 90.7 percent effective in preventing COVID in this age group. Trials are now underway looking at vaccination for children as young as 6 months old.

Short-term side effects of the COVID vaccine — including fever, chills, and body aches — have been common across all age categories with the COVID vaccines, most noticeably after the second dose. Similar side effects were also seen in the trials for the 5- to 11-year-olds, with younger recipients possibly more prone to these, health officials said.

In COVID-vaccinated adolescents and young adults under 30 years of age, rare cases of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, have also been seen, most notably among males, Putnam officials said. However, infection with COVID-19 poses a higher risk for developing myocarditis than vaccination. There were no reported or observed cases of myocarditis in the recent trial data submitted to the FDA on the 3,000 plus children ages 5 to 11.

Clearly the less risky path for all ages, 5 and older, is vaccination, Putnam health officials said.