CDC Approval Has Texas Set To Receive Estimated 1.3 Million Doses Of Pfizer Pediatric COVID Vaccine
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) — The approval has been given, now the Texas Department of State Health Services has asked the CDC to ship Pfizer's pediatric COVID-19 vaccine to more than 900 state providers in 155 counties over the next week.
According to state leaders, the CDC will deliver some 1,011,000 doses of the vaccine to Texas vaccine providers and nearly 350,000 doses to pharmacies in the federal pharmacy program. The additional doses of medicine are to vaccinate children between the ages of 5 and 11.
The state already has more than 400,000 doses of vaccine, and another 162,000 doses are expected to arrive Wednesday. Delivery of the full amount of shots for kids will continue through the next week.
"Twenty-two Texas children between the ages of 5 and 11 have died from complications of COVID-19 and 118 have been diagnosed with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children," said Dr. John Hellerstedt, DSHS commissioner. "The pediatric vaccine will further help reduce the spread of disease and prevent the rare but serious complications of COVID-19 in this age group."
The Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the pediatric vaccine on October 29, and vaccine started arriving in Texas on November 1. A list of providers receiving the pediatric vaccine is available at the Pediatric Vaccine Provider Allocation List.
The pediatric vaccine comes in a different formulation from the vaccine approved for adults, so it is important to seek out providers who have received the pediatric vaccine when getting children in this age group vaccinated. DSHS recommends making an appointment or checking with the provider before going to get vaccinated.
There are approximately 2.9 million children ages 5 to 11 in Texas.
