MICHIGAN — Michigan Department of Health and Human Services doctors and public health leaders are urging Michigan parents to get their children ages 5-11 vaccinated against COVID-19.
Pfizer-BioNTech's pediatric vaccine received emergency use authorization for this age group from the FDA and was recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Tuesday.
RELATED: CDC director signs off on Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11
State officials want providers to start vaccinating children ages 5 to 11 as soon as possible.
“Being able to vaccinate children ages 5 to 11 with the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine brings us hope and also an additional opportunity to urge all eligible Michiganders to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive at MDHHS. “We know these vaccines work and protect our children and their families. Even healthy children can suffer serious effects from COVID-19. The vaccines remain our way out of the pandemic, and more than 825,000 more children in our state our now eligible.”
According to data from Pfizer, the vaccine was shown to be almost 91% effective at preventing symptomatic disease from COVID-19 in this age group.
The pediatric formulation of the vaccine is administered as a series of two doses, 21 days apart, at one-third the amount of the adult dosage.
Clinical trial participants demonstrated a strong immune response one month after the second dose.
The most commonly reported side effects, usually lasting one to three days, were pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache, chills, muscle pain, fever and joint pain. More children reported these side effects after the second dose than after the first dose, with the exception of pain at the injection site.
More than 4,000 vaccine providers are available throughout Michigan, including family physicians and pediatricians, urgent cares, local health departments, federally qualified health centers and pharmacies.
Local Pharmacies Administering Vaccines:
- Walgreenswill begin administering doses to children 5-11 this Saturday, Nov. 6.
- CVSwill begin administering doses this Sunday, Nov. 7.
- Meijerwill begin administering doses by appointment only on Tuesday, Nov. 9.
Mask Mandates in Schools:
Several local counties have mask mandates in place in schools that are set to expire.
- Kent County: 60 days after Nov. 2, 2021, which is Jan. 1, 2022.
- Kalamazoo County: Six weeks after Nov. 2, 2021, which is Dec. 17, 2021
- Ottawa County: 60 days after Jan. 1, 2022.