Local pharmacy chains will begin vaccinating children aged five to 11 this weekend after the Centers for Disease Control authorized the Pfizer shot for the age group.
CVS, Walgreens, and RiteAid locations in New Hampshire will offer a two-dose series of shots for kids which contains about a third of the amount of vaccine contained in the full-sized series. Parents can book an appointment for their child at one of the pharmacy’s websites and find a map of vaccine sites on the N.H Department of Health’s website, which lists about 200 locations statewide.
Parents must accompany children younger than 15 and will need to stay in the pharmacy area for 15 minutes after the shot for observation. Parental or legal guardian con sent is required. In Concord, several other business chains will administer COVID-19 vaccines to children, including Hannaford, Walmart, and Sam’s Club. Concord has six available sites listed oin the state map.
Schools may also begin holding on-site vaccination events for qualifying students.
Some Walgreens locations will have activity sheets, stickers, tootsie pops, and the option to print a free photo of the vaccination, according to the company.
Like the adult-sized vaccine, children in this age group will need to receive two shots, spaced about three weeks apart. Some pharmacies have added extra appointments outside of school hours to handle increased demand.
At a press conference Tuesday, state epidemiologist Benjamin Chan said many pharmacies have already received their initial allotments of the pediatric vaccine. The state preordered more than 15,000 doses, he said. Gov. Chris Sununu said about 28 children have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic. Though that number is low, he said the vaccine would offer another layer of protection from the coronavirus.
It is still unclear how many parents will sign up for vaccine appointments in light of the authorization.
“We don’t really know what the uptake rate is,” Sununu said. “My sense is it’ll be about what we saw with teenagers.”
About 50,000 Granite Staters aged 12 to 19, or about 36% of the demographic, have been vaccinated, according to state data. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll published in late October found that three in ten parents say they will definitely not get the vaccine for their 5 to 11-year-old children. Another 33% of respondents said they would hold off on their child’s vaccination until later, primarily citing concerns about the long-term effects of the vaccine.
The vaccine was found to be 90.7% effective in preventing COVID-19 in children 5 through 11, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Furthermore, there have been no serious side effects detected in an ongoing study of more than 3,000 children in that age group.
About a fourth of parents also expressed concerns about the cost of the vaccine. For most people the vaccine is free. Some insurance companies may charge an administrative fee, but that is rare.