Covid-19 vaccinations for children ages 5-11 will be available starting today November, 3rd 2021. Supply is expected to be at full scale the week of November, 8th. Connecticut has ordered 100,000 doses so far for the roughly 277,000 kids aged 5-11 in the state.
Governor Lamont and Public Health Commissioner Announcement
The vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 is a smaller dose than the one given to those 12 and older — 10 micrograms of mRNA versus 30 micrograms. The full vaccination series consists of two doses given three weeks apart. The children’s doses will come in vials with an orange cap and an orange label. The doses for adults and teens come in vials with a purple cap and a purple label. Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine is fully approved for teens and adults 16 and older, and may be given under emergency use authorization for children and teens 12 to 15. It is the most widely used vaccine in the United States, with more than 243 million doses given as of Monday, according to the CDC. Side effects of the vaccination include sore arms, fever and muscle aches.
Just over 1,500 children ages 5 to 11 received the vaccine in the Pfizer trial (another 750 received a placebo) and there were no cases of myocarditis. 12- to 17-year-olds who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, the rate was as high as 56.7 cases per million doses in the three weeks following vaccination, which translates to 0.005%. According to the CDC, 172 children ages 5-11 have died of Covid-19 as of November. In this age group, there have been more than 8,300 Covid-19 related hospitalizations through September of this year, and about 1.9 million cases. Children who test positive for Covid-19 are also at risk for a rare inflammatory condition called MIS-C, or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. As many as 5,217 children of all ages have developed MIS-C, and 46 have died. Both Covid-19 and MIS-C, which is caused by Covid-19, are also known to increase the risk of myocarditis. The benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks when compared to a Covid-19 infection.
Parents will also be able to find pharmacies with pediatric COVID-19 shots in stock at vaccines.gov, a CDC website to help people who want COVID-19 vaccines figure out where to go, or the Connecticut Covid-19 Vaccine Portal.
FDA Analysis of Pfizer Vaccine for Children 5-11
CDC Analysis of Pfizer Vaccine for Children 5-11