The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine could be approved for children ages 5 to 11 as soon as Tuesday, and Oklahoma health officials say the state is ready to start administering the shots.
There are about 375,000 kids in that age range in the state, and the Oklahoma State Department of Health expects about 135,000 doses of vaccine for them from the feds in the first week of shipments.
"The same pandemic providers that are out there that are providing vaccine for the adults will be eligible to provide vaccine for these kids. We’ve already confirmed with the pharmacies across the state, the large chains as well as the smaller ones," said Interim State Health Commissioner Keith Reed. "The vast majority of them will be offering this vaccine as well, so we feel like we’ve got very good access points around the state, and we’ve been assured the supply chain will be very good from day one."
"We know this is an extremely important step to help keep kids safely in school this year, and as we head into the holidays, we are optimistic about extending this protection to even more of our population," said OSDH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Gitanjali Pai.
Kids between 5 and 11 years old would get smaller doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine than other age groups, including kids 12 to 17. The smaller doses require smaller needles and different packaging for shipment.
