COLUMBUS, Ohio — With federal agencies having giving final authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11, Ohio's health leaders say they are ready to begin the process of getting doses in the arms of kids across the state.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 pediatric vaccine formulation. A panel from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signed off on the kid-sized doses on Tuesday afternoon.
Final authorization from the CDC came on Tuesday evening.
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) said earlier on Tuesday that vaccine providers across the state can begin vaccinating children ages 5 to 11 years old as soon as the CDC makes its final recommendation.
“Today is a day that many children and numerous adults — parents, guardians, grandparents, aunts, uncles, pediatricians, teachers, and coaches — have long awaited,” said Ohio Department of Health Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA, in a statement. “The authorization of this COVID-19 vaccine for younger Ohioans is yet another crucial turning point in this pandemic, allowing us to better protect young children from severe complications from COVID-19. This deadly virus has killed more than 24,000 Ohioans, and has caused nearly 206,000 pediatric infections among those ages 17 and younger.”
Vanderhoff is scheduled to hold a press conference with pediatric medical experts about the COVID-19 vaccines for children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old on Wednesday morning at 10 a.m.
On Thursday, 3News will present a multi-platform discussion called "Facts Not Fear: Your Kids and COVID." At 7 p.m. on Front Row, Monica Robins, Jim Donovan, and Sara Shookman will host a panel discussion with some of the area's top medical professionals who specialize in pediatric medicine and vaccinations.
Following Front Row at 7:30 p.m., Monica and Sara will continue the conversation with our panel of experts on a livestreamed special at wkyc.com, the WKYC app, the WKYC Facebook page, and on our WKYC YouTube channel. You'll be able to ask questions with our panel live, but you can start sending us your questions now via text at 216-344-3300.
The Ohio Department of Health reports that as of November 1, more than 2,000 Ohio children under 18 had been hospitalized with COVID-19, and 15 had died.
“Just like adults, when children become sick from COVID-19, they can spread it to others and suffer severe health outcomes, or even death,” explained Dr. Vanderhoff. “When more people are vaccinated, it lessens the opportunity for dangerous variants to take hold, helping us to get control of this pandemic.”
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine pediatric formulation is a smaller 10 microgram dose compared with the dose of 30 micrograms used in adults and adolescents 12 and older. It is arriving in Ohio on a staggered schedule over the coming days.
Providers across the state, including local health departments, pediatricians, family physicians, community health centers, adult and children’s hospitals, and pharmacies, are receiving shipments and will be scheduling appointments or accepting walk-ins. As the shipments arrive and following the CDC’s recommendation, providers can begin to administer the vaccine.
Ohioans are encouraged to call their provider for more information or visit gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634) to locate a provider or make an appointment.
There are an estimated 997,570 Ohioans ages 5 to 11 years old, bringing the total of Ohioans eligible to be vaccinated based on age to 10,998,272, approximately 94% of the state’s population.
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