It was announced this week that COVID-19 vaccines would be made available for children as young as 5 years of age. Southeastern Utah Health Department Director, Brady Bradford stopped by Castle Country Radio to discuss all the details.
“So the Pfizer vaccine for 5 to 11 year olds received emergency use authorization and at that point, that means, we now have permission, full permission, to administer that to 5 to 11 year olds. It may be the health department, he may be your local pediatrician or the pharmacy. We expect that the vaccine can be found in all those locations in the coming days and weeks,” stated Bradford. There have been many committees that have tested that vaccine on children ages 5 to 11 years old, they have determined it to be safe and effective.
The health department will be able to offer parents the opportunity to get their child vaccinated soon. “So I know at the health department we are waiting on our final shipment and for Carbon, Emery and Grand counties we have information and scheduling available on our website. Just due to, how much we will receive, the initial couple of weeks will be by appointment only for this age group. So our first clinic will be held on Monday,” stated Bradford. The clinic will run from about 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the health department at 28 South 100 East in Price. Again, parents must schedule an appointment beforehand, no walk-ins will be available at this time.
“It’s 1/3 the dose of that we’ve given to adults and they’ve found that’s been effective in preventing disease. The hope with that as long as we maintain that efficacy is there are fewer side effects for this age group. Pfizer in general that side effects haven’t been as significant as Moderna. So we are very hopeful that this will be a pretty smooth process for those children,” said Bradford. The children who obtain the vaccine will be required to get a booster shot 21 days following the initial injection.
To schedule a vaccination appointment for your child please visit the Southeastern Utah Health Department website at https://www.seuhealth.com/ or call them at (435) 637-3671.