Pfizer’s COVID vaccine is very close to getting emergency use authorization for children 5 to 11 years old, today the FDA’s advisory committee endorsed the vaccine. The CDC’s vaccine advisory committee meets next week to clarify recommendations, and once that occurs we anticipate the federal government to start releasing the vaccine the following week.
The vaccine formulation is different from what has been used for adults and teens – WE CANNOT USE THE CURRENT VACCINES FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN, we need to wait for the “new” vaccines to be delivered. The pediatric formulation is preservative free.
We’ve been administering the COVID vaccine to eligible patients in our practice since May of 2021, and we are actively planning strategies to get this vaccine distributed as quickly and as efficiently as we can to our younger patients once it gets approved.
What you need to know:
- The fastest way to communicate with us will be through UCSF’s MyChart patient portal. If you are not signed up yet please go to https://www.ucsfhealth.org/mychart and follow the instructions.
- We have already placed our COVID vaccine pre-order with San Mateo County’s Health Department and it has been approved, we are waiting for a shipment date.
- COVID vaccines will be shipped out in multiple phases, we should have enough COVID vaccine for everyone who wants it
- we do not have any information on when the vaccine will be available for children younger than 5 years of age
This is an exciting time, we are proud to do our part to keep our patients, families and community safe. We will be posting more updates as information becomes available.