91 providers register for new vaccine supply
Hartford Healthcare expecting shipment within the next week
With an estimated 182,000 children under 5 years old in Connecticut now eligible to be vaccinated for COVID-19, 91 providers across the state have signed up to receive a supply of the vaccine for young children.
Thomas Balcezak, chief medical officer of Yale New Haven Health, said Yale New Haven should start administering those vaccines as early as Thursday.
“I think in very short order there will be plenty of vaccine availability in the state,” said Balcezak.
The state has ordered 26,690 doses of the immunization — 12,940 doses of the Pfizer shot and 13,750 doses of Moderna, according to officials at the Department of Public Health and officials are now set to begin the rollout of vaccines. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week unanimously recommended emergency authorization of the vaccines for children 6 months to 4 years old, and the FDA on Friday granted that approval.
“We should have vaccine doses in those provider offices beginning today,” said Mick Bolduc, vaccine coordinator for the Connecticut Vaccine Program.
“The doses we have so far were the pre-orders in anticipation of the FDA decision last week. We had to wait for the FDA’S and CDC’S approval before those could be shipped out,” he said. “Once they were approved for use they were immediately shipped to providers.”
Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on the FDA’S approval over the weekend. The longawaited shots will be reaching arms as doctor’s offices reopen following the holiday weekend.
“If parents call their pediatrician and they are not getting those doses in right now there are other options including retail pharmacies and local health departments,” Bolduc said. “We anticipate the state’s vaccine website will be updated to include this age group in a matter of days so parents can go on and see locations statewide to get their children vaccinated.”
Dr. Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist, Hartford Healthcare, said, “This is very good news from the FDA. It is a safe vaccine.
“The more we can extend the protective bubble of vaccinated individuals, the better it is for everyone, “Wu said. “Hartford Healthcare will continue to educate about the benefits of vaccine. And we will continue to serve the needs of the community.
“By protecting our children, we can better keep them out of harm’s way, as well as those they live — the people they live with and come in contact with,” he said. “We have ordered the vaccines necessary and are expecting them within the next week to begin administering them.”
Parents who want to make an appointment should first check to see whether their pediatrician is providing vaccines, health officials said. If not, they can visit vaccines. gov, type in a ZIP code and find vaccine clinics near them. Pediatricians, larger health systems, and local health districts and health departments are all included on the website.
Pfizer’s vaccine for children 6 months to 4 years old requires three shots. The first two are taken three weeks apart and the third is taken at two months later. The shots are one-tenth the dosage of the vaccine for adults.
Moderna’s immunization requires two doses spaced four weeks apart. It would cover children ages 6 months to 5 years old. The immunizations for young children contain 25 micrograms — less than the 100 micrograms in adult vaccines.
“This is certainly going to be a relief for many parents who have been waiting until now to get their young children vaccinated,” said Balcezak. “While the risk of serious illness of COVID-19 in kids is small … it’s not zero. It’s important to remember that some kids do get very sick and even if they don’t they still can act as carriers of the disease.”
But Balcezak also said he is “more worried about the demand than the supply.”
“We’re partnering with the Children’s Hospital Association of the United States through both an education and marketing campaign to engage parents in getting their kids vaccinated,” he said. “We’re really hoping parents turn out in large numbers.”
A reported 61% of parents with children age 12-17 say that their child is vaccinated, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey. However, the numbers are different for younger children of unvaccinated parents. A Harris poll of 306 parents with children under 5 found that 73% of vaccinated parents said they’re “likely to vaccinate their kids,” while only 35% of unvaccinated parents said they would make a vaccination appointment for their child.
More than a quarter of parents say their child has had to quarantine because they tested positive or were exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and over 20,000 children have been hospitalized across the U.S. for the virus, according to CDC data.
The White House announced the Biden administration is making 10 million doses of the vaccine available to states, tribes, territories, community health centers, federal pharmacy partners and others effective immediately following the FDA’S decision.
“Today is a monumental step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus, with virtually every American now eligible for the protections that Covid-19 vaccines provide,” President Joe Biden said in a written statement Sunday. “For parents all over the country, this is a day of relief and celebration.”