Since Wednesday, children ages 5 to 11 have begun to receive the first childhood vaccines against covid-19 in California. A day after the federal government approved the infant-size dose of vaccines for children of that age.
As part of an ambitious plan by the state of California, se plans to distribute hundreds of vaccines to the 3.5 million children in the state. In addition to offering vaccines in strategic locations such as school clinics, pharmacies, pediatric offices and other sites in the county, which will be launched in the coming days.
According to experts, 1.2 million initial doses of the vaccine are expected for children in California. For their part, some counties in the state have already begun offering appointments to make vaccinations quick and effective.
Santa Clara County began handing out appointments on Wednesday that were quickly booked for vaccination. So the county expects to receive about 55,000 doses this week, in addition to opening additional clinics in 80 schools with mobile vaccination teams for low-income neighborhoods.
“This is an important step in protecting our children and our community, providing relief to families, and creating an additional level of protection to sustain in-person learning in our schools,” said Sara Cody, Santa Clara health officer, at a statement.
Pop-up clinics in Los Angeles County also began dosing children on Wednesday, the county health department said. The county is the most populous in the country with 10 million residents, including some 900,000 children between the ages of 5 and 11.
California has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country and it has also had some of the strictest masking and vaccination requirements, but new cases and hospitalizations have recently stalled after a steady two-month decline that saw California boast the lowest infection rate in the country.
State models show a gradual increase in hospitalizations in the next month as colder weather and vacations drive people indoors.
The Pfizer vaccine is now available for kids 5-11.
Science and data don’t lie. The vaccine is safe. The vaccine is effective. The vaccine can save your child’s life. https://t.co/bbHjtsxHDg
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 3, 2021
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Not to mention that California was one of the leading states nationwide to impose a vaccination mandate on students of public and private schools statewide with a population of 6.7 million students.
The federal government has promised enough vaccinations to protect the nation’s 28 million children in this age group, and many enthusiastic parents rush to vaccinate their youngest children before the holiday season.
Some Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California will begin offering the Pfizer vaccine covid-19 to children as early as Monday, authorities said.
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