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COVID-19 vaccinations for young children may start this weekend

Children ranging in age from five-11 could receive their COVID-19 vaccinations as early as this weekend.
Joanna
/
Flickr / Creative Commons
Children ranging in age from five-11 could receive their COVID-19 vaccinations as early as this weekend.

As of Tuesday, the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for younger children is still pending approval by federal regulators with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its approval in California will also be required by the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, made up of public health and immunization experts in California, Washington, Oregon, and Nevada.

Contra Costa officials said the vaccine could be available as soon as Saturday at county-run clinics, but parents should also check with their child's doctor or local pharmacies about availability.

Same goes for San Francisco at nearly 100 vaccination sites. The San Francisco Department of Public Health announced, Monday, that it is planning to host family-friendly vaccination events and virtual town halls with clinicians in which we will offer information on vaccine safety and availability in multiple languages to address the questions from parents and caretakers.

Clinical data presented to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that the vaccine was nearly 91 percent effective at preventing the virus among children ages 5-11. Their trial included about 3,100 people and no serious side effects were reported following the vaccination.

You can find more information about vaccine education sessions, and where to find available vaccines, at KALW.org.

Here's some additional information:

On Thursday at 6 p.m., Contra Costa County Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano, county Superintendent of Schools Lynn Mackey and other local medical experts will participate in the virtual town hall via Zoom at bit.ly/3CNyBIE. Spanish and sign language translation will be available.

English: Families! Join health experts to answer questions on COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5-11. Register here to join Town Hall on Vaccines for Children ages 5-11 at 7:30 - English on 11/2/21, Cantonese on 11/3/21, and Spanish on 11/4/21.

Chinese: 家長們! 誠邀您參與關於5-11歲兒童接種新冠疫苗的醫療專家答疑。請在此登記參與7時30分舉辦的關於5- 11歲兒童接種新冠疫苗社區會議。英 語 (11月2日), 粵語 (11月3日), 西班牙語 (11月4日)。

Spanish: ¡Familias! Acudan para escuchar las respuestas de expertos en salud a preguntas sobre las vacunas contra el COVID-19 para niños de 5 a 11 años. Inscríbanse aquí para participar en la asamblea pública sobre las vacunas para niños de 5 a 11 años a las 7:30 en inglés el 2 de noviembre de 2021, en cantonés el 3 de noviembre de 2021 y en español el 4 de noviembre de 2021.

Filipino: Mga pamilya! Sumali sa mga eksperto sa kalusugan upang sagutin ang mga tanong sa mga bakuna sa COVID-19 para sa mga batang edad 5-11. Magparehistro dito para sumali sa Town Hall sa Vaccines for Children na may edad 5-11 sa 7:30 - English sa 11/2/21, Cantonese sa 11/3/21, at Spanish sa 11/4/21.

Preparations for Vaccines for Children ages 5-11

All vaccine sites in San Francisco will be able to administer vaccines for children ages 5-11, expected to start Saturday November 6th pending CDPH guidance.
San Francisco has nearly 100 vaccine sites. All will be offering pediatric vaccines, including health care providers, pediatrician offices, pharmacies, community health clinics, neighborhood vaccine sites, and school-based vaccine clinics.
SFDPH has partnered with SF Unified School District to host four school-based clinics, which will have pediatric vaccines:
Tuesdays from 3:30-6:30 at Malcolm X Academy (Bayview Hunters Point)
Wednesdays from 2:30-5:30 at Balboa (Excelsior)
Saturdays from 10:30-1:30 at McCoppin (Richmond)
Sundays from 10:30-1:30 at Sunset (Sunset)
As part of our efforts to keep our community informed, SFDPH is planning to host family-friendly vaccination events and virtual town halls with clinicians in which we will offer information on vaccine safety.

Ben joined KALW in 2004. As Executive News Editor and then News Director, he helped the news department win numerous regional and national awards for long- and short-form journalism. He also helped teach hundreds of audio producers, many of whom work with him at KALW, today.