My daughter was just learning to walk when the pandemic began. She’s now almost four years old and has never had any COVID-19 vaccinations.
This week, that all changes. The White House has developed a plan to vaccinate the 19 million children under 5 years old in the U.S. But if you are just getting out of holiday weekend and trying to figure where to go, you are not alone.
Claire Hannan, the executive director of The Association of Immunization Managers, has been helping immunization directors from all 50 states navigate COVID-19 vaccination rollouts since fall 2020. NPR spoke with Hannan about what has been going on behind the scenes to make this low-dose vaccine formulation from Moderna and Pfizer available so that children can be protected.
This interview was edited to be more concise and clear.
How is the rollout going? Are pediatricians able to order the new shots?
There were two pre-order waves. The first wave was closed in June earlier than the second. Because the provider needed to be able accept vaccine on Monday aEUR”, the pre-orders for wave one were very small. Wave two pre-orders had significantly more orders, and they begin to be delivered on Wednesday or Thursday. It’s likely that vaccines will be available by the end the week, so I believe it’ll be simple.
On Saturday, the CDC advisory meeting was held where all data was reviewed by vaccine experts. It was aEUR. What did the parents miss?
The entire committee was very passionate about the benefits of the vaccine for children. If anyone is unsure whether or not they should get the vaccine for their child, then this should dispel any doubts.
They looked at data on the disease, the hospitalizations and deaths. The vaccine did not cause any serious adverse reactions. They continue to monitor the situation as vaccines are developed. However, there is no reason to believe that there will be serious adverse events due to the many millions of vaccines that have been administered to adults. Although the effectiveness isn’t as high for adults, aEUR”, with two doses of Moderna and possibly a third dose of Pfizer, aEUR”, the effectiveness against hospitalizations and death is excellent.
Many parents will say that their child has received COVID. According to the data, there is no benefit for your child if they have had COVID. The vaccine protects against future hospitalizations and deaths. Even if your child has COVID, I recommend that they get the vaccine. Make sure you get all three doses of Pfizer, Moderna and Moderna. And wait for the booster.
How dependent will this rollout be on pharmacies and pediatricians?
This rollout will depend more on family doctors and pediatricians. According to CDC, between 70 and 80% of the Vaccines For Children enrolled pediatricians are also enrolled under the COVID [vaccine] program. Although there are many challenges, I believe that the medical home for children [their doctors’ office] will have more vaccines than with older children and adults, where pharmacies can play a significant role.
[Pharmacies] are able to vaccinate children as young as three years old right now, even though the pandemic is raging. However, CDC has told us that 10% of pharmacies will be required to vaccinate children under five years of age. This is because most of the pharmacists aren’t comfortable with younger kids and don’t have the time or relationship with parents.
Many pediatricians, including mine, do not intend to order the vaccine. Here are some reasons why pediatricians might not participate.
Pediatricians usually receive single-dose vials when they administer other vaccines. They take the vial from the fridge and give it to the child when they come in. They don’t need to worry about wasting.
It comes in a 10-dose vial with the COVID vaccine. They must give nine additional shots to children within twelve hours of giving the first shot. Otherwise, the entire vial will be wasted. It is very difficult for them to order, and they will likely have to discard any unused doses. We have been pushing providers with the message that it is better to waste a dose than to miss an opportunity to vaccinate your child.
This is also a brand new formulation. The vials of 5-11 years old were different with an orange label.
This is a new formulation. The new Pfizer vials have a maroon label, while the Moderna ones have a magenta. Now you have six formulations that a pediatrician might carry if they had to carry both Pfizer or Moderna for every age group, from 6 months to 18 years. This is another challenge.
We are seeing that providers want only one brand. Because the vaccines are so diverse, providers want to minimize their chance of making mistakes in storage or administration.
Doctors had to order at least 100 doses for vaccines that were 5-11 years old. Are these vaccines safe?
Yes, 100 doses is the minimum order. It’s certainly a challenge. A 10-dose vial is a challenge if your practice is small or rural. If you have only 10 children in your practice, you will know that you could open 10 vials each day and throw out the remaining nine. A provider might respond, “You know what?” This vaccine is not recommended for me. We have providers who don’t want it, particularly small rural providers.
Health agencies have performed zip code analyses on orders. As a way to ensure that vaccine is available in the community, they are using local health departments. They also set up mobile clinics or clinics at schools if there aren’t any providers in the area.
What can you do if your pediatrician won’t give you shots, and your child is under 5 years old?
Check vaccines.gov. This shows you the nearest providers that have the vaccine supply for children under five years old. This will show you that although the pediatrician may not be your pediatrician, they have enough vaccines to vaccinate your child. You can also call them. You can also look at the vaccines.gov.aeur” by entering your zip code.
Then I would call my local hospital or visit their website. You might find a clinic offering vaccinations in your locality. You can also contact your pharmacy. Some urgent care clinics and CVS minute clinics can vaccinate [kids] below 3.
Florida Governor Rick Scott has made headlines by announcing that the state will not order COVID vaccines for this age bracket. Is Florida getting vaccine?
Florida’s situation was that the state didn’t order any doses during that initial preorder. Family doctors and other providers are placing orders for vaccine right now. They were able order over the weekend so deliveries will likely begin Wednesday or Thursday.
The vaccine is now being delivered to providers who have ordered it. It was possible to order it in advance from the retail pharmacies, so some have it already.
Parents there should be aware that it could be more difficult and that it might take a few more days for more vaccines to arrive, but they are getting it shipped to Florida.
