Santa Clara County will release the plan to begin administering the COVID-19 vaccine to children under 5 years of age and infants up to 6 months of age once it is approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). for its acronym in English).
Sara Cody, director of the county Public Health Department, reported that they plan to receive the first batch of vaccines for this group on Monday, June 20, and will begin distributing them once their approval is announced.
“We know how long families have been waiting for this moment. This will be our final step in being able to vaccinate everyone in our community, of all ages,” Cody said. “We know that many families are relieved to know that a COVID-19 vaccine will be available to keep their young children as safe as possible.”
Parents will need to make appointments at county immunization centers by visiting www.sccfreevax.org. Appointments will not open until supplies have been secured.
“We are encouraged by the number of doses that are anticipated to arrive in the first assignments,” said Dr. Jennifer Tong, deputy medical director of the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. “This will provide a wonderful start in vaccinating this very young age group. Our staff is ready to receive the vaccines and, pending CDC approval, begin administering them.”
In the county, there are approximately 100,000 children under the age of 5. In addition to the vaccines that come to the county through the state of California and the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, multi-jurisdictional entities in our county, such as Kaiser Permanente and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, will receive doses directly from government sources.
Due to regulations regarding age requirements for vaccines administered by pharmacists, vaccines for younger children may not be available at all participating pharmacies.
The county will open a new vaccination center in Mountain View next week.
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