Kids could be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine days after Halloween. Pediatricians plead for patience.
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With an official application submitted Thursday for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, more than 28 million children could become eligible to receive the shot days after Halloween, and pediatricians and pharmacists are bracing for a crush.
The demand for shots when the vaccine became available for older adolescents in May gives a sense of what may be in store when 5- to 11-year-olds come on board.
“In the first four days after 12- to 15-year-olds were eligible for the Pfizer vaccine, we had nearly 28,000 vaccine doses given in the state,” reaching more than 7% of all the adolescents eligible, said Dr. Umair Shah, Washington’s secretary of health.
With the expanded authorization, almost double that many children will be able to get in line – a full 8.5% of the U.S. population – and there is pent-up demand as many parents are eager to get their kids vaccinated now that they are back at school.