Washington Could Begin Vaccinating Kids 5-11 Starting Next Week

OLYMPIA, WA — The Washington State Department of Health is gearing up to begin distributing hundreds of thousands of "kid-sized" Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines as the state awaits federal approval to vaccinate children ages five to eleven. At the DOH's weekly briefing Wednesday, officials said that approval was likely only days away.

"An important milestone I know many parents are eagerly awaiting is vaccines for kids age five to eleven," said Michele Roberts, head of the state's vaccine planning and distribution team. "I'm so happy to report we are one step closer."

An FDA advisory committee on Tuesday completed its recommendation, saying that smaller doses of the Pfizer vaccine are safe for use in kids aged five to eleven. Now, local health leaders say they just need formal recommendations from the FDA and CDC before the Western State Scientific Safety Review Workgroup will give its final approval, and authorize the use of these child-size doses in Washington.

"This means vaccines for kids age five to eleven could happen as soon as the end of next week," Roberts said Wednesday.

In anticipation of that approval, Washington has ordered hundreds of thousands of these smaller vaccines. The Evergreen State has been allocated 230,000 child doses by the federal government, Roberts said, and will receive 86,000 more through the federal pharmacy program.

There are roughly 680,000 children in Washington who will become eligible for vaccination once final approval is given, but DOH estimates show only about 30 percent of their families are likely to seek vaccination right away — meaning the 316,000 incoming doses should be enough to meet the early demand.

"They will be here in the state for late next week if everything goes according to plan," Roberts said.

Many of the doses will be delivered through health care providers and pharmacies, but many schools are also expected to host vaccine clinics for younger kids as well.

"Many of them have been offering clinics already for their older students this school year or last school year, or both" said Lacey Fehrenbach, Deputy Secretary of the COVID-19 response. "Just like every other group that's been eligible it is our goal to vaccinate these five to eleven-year-olds as quickly and equitably as possible, that is our path out of this pandemic."

Until the Pfizer shot is approved for use in younger children, however, state health leaders say they're hoping to boost vaccination rates in teenagers. Currently, 49 percent of Washington's 12 to 15-year-olds are fully vaccinated, as are 55 percent of kids ages 16 and 17.

"The more people that are vaccinated, the better off we all are," Roberts said. "COVID-19 vaccines are safe and highly-effective at preventing serious illness and death. If you haven't been vaccinated yet, today is the perfect day to make an appointment."