Photo by John Cochran
From the Mayor’s Office last night:
“Today, following approval from the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC Health, led by Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt, announced that families will be able to begin getting children who are 5-11 years old vaccinated against COVID-19 beginning Wednesday, November 3. The arrival of a safe and effective vaccine for children is a monumental moment in the fight against COVID-19. In the coming days and weeks, every family who wants to have their child vaccinated will be able to conveniently access a free and safe vaccine.
As of this evening, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the CDC have approved the Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children 5-11 years old for Emergency Use Authorization. The vaccine is safe and lowers the chance of children getting and spreading COVID-19. The vaccine is 90% effective at preventing symptoms of COVID-19. Children 5-11 years old will receive a smaller dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine than adolescents and adults, approximately one-third the dose that people 12 and older get. Like the vaccine for people and 12 and older, children 5-11 will need to receive two doses of the vaccine taken three weeks apart.
In the coming days and weeks, the vaccine will be available at more than 60 pharmacies, hospitals, and health centers across all eight wards. Listed below are sites, by ward, that are expected to begin vaccinating children this week. While some sites will be able to begin vaccinating children on Wednesday, November 3, many sites will begin vaccinating children later this week. (more…)
