Pharmacies, Duval County Public Schools to offer new COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5 to 11

The newly federally approved COVID-19 vaccine for children was expected to be available at some Northeast Florida pharmacies as soon as this weekend and at certain schools, pediatrician offices and other locations later this week.

Having a vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 is a “huge” development in limiting severe illness and death from the coronavirus, said Dr. Mobeen Rathore, Wolfson Children's Hospital's chief of pediatric infectious diseases and immunology and chief of UF Health Jacksonville's Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology.

"It's a big deal," he said.

Because children who are vaccinated will be safer at school and in the community, they can "go back to normal, as normal as possible," Rathore said. "Children have suffered a lot in the pandemic. Life was not normal."

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Last week an advisory committee to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11. CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky later signed off on the committee's recommendations.

Where and when can children get vaccinated?

CVS and Walgreens, the two largest pharmacy chains in the country, are now accepting appointments for COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5 through 11. Ages 12 and up were already eligible.

To schedule an appointment at Walgreens, go to walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid/19/landing or call 1-800-Walgreens. For a CVS appointment, go to cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine?icid=cvs-home-hero1-link1-covid19-vaccine.

Select Winn-Dixie pharmacies will offer the vaccine for ages 5 to 11 starting this weekend. For appointments and locations, go to winndixie.com/pharmacy/covid-vaccine.

Walmart and Sam's Club also plan to offer the shots — go to walmart.com/cp/flu-shots-immunizations/1228302 or samsclub.com/pharmacy — as does Publix, via publix.com/covid-vaccine.

Upcoming, Duval County Public Schools will host vaccination clinics on Friday to provide the first dose for children ages 5 and older.

"Since vaccines became available, we recognized that a vaccinated community is our best path to help keep our schools safe and open for students and families," Superintendent Diana Greene said. "I respect the fact that vaccination is a personal decision. My goal is to provide access for those who choose vaccination. I do encourage everyone to strongly consider vaccinating their children and if you have any questions or hesitancy, please consult with your pediatrician or family doctor."

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At the school district clinics, all children younger than 18 must be accompanied by a parent, and parents must sign a consent form. Forms can be downloaded at teamduval.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/DOH-Screening-and-Consent-Form-102521-final.pdf but will be available at the events.

There will be four events from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at four Jacksonville schools:

• First Coast High School, 590 Duval Station Road

• Riverside High School, 1200 S. McDuff Ave.

• Springfield Middle School, 2034 Hubbard St.

• Landmark Middle School, 101 N. Kernan Blvd.

The second vaccine dose will be available at the same school sites 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Dec. 4. Another parent consent form will be required.

As part of a Day of Honor and Appreciation for veterans and COVID heroes, the Jacksonville COVID-19 Task Force will offer vaccines for ages 5 and up, as well as booster shots, at 2 p.m. Saturday. The event follows Veterans Day on Thursday and will be at James Weldon Johnson Park, 135 W. Monroe St.

Families who want to honor a deceased hero — such as medical professionals, active-duty military, educators, police and fire officials and others who have been on the pandemic front lines — should send an email to JaxCOVIDTaskForce@Gmail.com.

Various health care entities also are expecting to offer the children's vaccine but could not say when or where.

"The vaccines have not been shipped to us yet but plans are being made," a Duval County Health Department spokeswoman said.

At UF Health Jacksonville family medicine and pediatrician offices, the children's vaccine will be administered but hasn't arrived yet, spokesman Dan Leveton said.

Other area hospitals said they had no plans to offer the vaccine.

Child vaccine 91 percent effective

In a news conference Wednesday, Walensky of the CDC assured parents the science behind the decision to recommend the vaccine for younger kids is sound. She said the shots will protect them and others from getting sick.

"In clinical trials, vaccination was found to be nearly 91 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 among children ages 5 to 11. In clinical trials, vaccine side effects were mild, self-limiting," she said. "The most common side effect was a sore arm."

Up to 28 million children will be eligible nationwide. The vaccine will be delivered in two shots at least three weeks apart.

"We know millions of parents are eager to get their children vaccinated," Walensky said. "As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated."

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Dr. Mark Toney, chief of hospital pediatrics at Wolfson Children’s Hospital and division chief of the pediatric hospital clinic at Nemours Children's Health-Jacksonville, said there are multiple reasons for parents to get their children vaccinated.

Although it is true children are less likely to become severely ill when compared with adults, "the fact that they are at lower risk is just a statistical fact," he said. "Many children get very sick from COVID-19 and can have both short- and long-term complications. Vaccination will significantly decrease the risk of a child getting seriously ill if he or she does get COVID-19 and can help protect others who are not eligible for the vaccine."

Toney urged anyone who is concerned about the vaccine to "do your diligence in gathering information from reputable sources," such as the CDC, academic institutions and trusted health care providers.

"We have the opportunity to actively prevent and lessen the impact of an illness that has reshaped the world," he said.

Wolfson's Rathore said parents can "take comfort" in the fact that the children's vaccine is one-third the dose of the "safe and effective" vaccine that has been given to teenagers and adults. About 425 million doses have been administered in the United States so far.

"There is no evidence of serious side effects," he said.

Still, Rathore recommended people continue to wear masks, to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

On Nov. 1, Duval County Public Schools lifted its mandate that students and employees wear masks on campus. The school district cited COVID-19 rates dropping in Jacksonville.

Almost 100 children have died from COVID-19 nationwide

CDC data suggested that vaccinations can prevent 600,000 infections in the 5-to-11 age group by March, including a number of hospitalizations and a few deaths. Fully vaccinating 1 million children in the age group would prevent about 57,000 cases of COVID-19 and about 200 hospitalizations, the CDC said.

Since the start of the pandemic, 94 American children ages 5 to 11 have died from the coronavirus and about 8,300 have been hospitalized, according to the agency.

The American Academy of Pediatrics supported the CDC Advisory Committee recommendation and urged families to check with their pediatrician and community health care providers about how to get their children vaccinated.

"Sharing this life-saving vaccine with our children is a huge step forward and provides us all with more confidence and optimism about the future," academy President Lee Savio Beers said. "Pediatricians are eager to participate in the immunization process and talk with families about this vaccine. We want to ensure that access to this vaccine is equitable and that every child is able to benefit."

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Testing is underway on potential COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 6 months to 5 years. Until one is available, the best way to protect that age group is for family members and caregivers to be vaccinated, according to Dr. Linda Edwards, dean of the UF Health at Jacksonville College of Medicine.

"Surround them with people who have been vaccinated," she said during a telephonic community health briefing Thursday. "Vaccines are so critical."

The Naples Daily News and USA Today contributed to this report.

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: COVID vaccine for kids: Pharmacies, Jacksonville schools offer shots for ages 5-11