Oaklandside reports that Alameda County is expected to be the first Bay Area county to provide these vaccines to the public, meaning 140,000 children are now eligible to get vaccinated. The shots for children will come in smaller doses, with an efficacy rate of around 90 percent.
Other Bay Area counties such as Santa Clara are expected to follow. The FDA still needs to give emergency approval; that’s expected as early as this week.
Currently, students in Oakland Unified School District and surrounding Bay Area districts, ages 12 and older, are required to be vaccinated by New Year’s Day in order to attend in person classes. Students ages five to 11 are not required to be vaccinated, but this is expected to change in the coming months.
The Alameda County Health Department plans to increase its community distribution of COVID-19 vaccines for the younger demographic group.
