The county will begin vaccinating children 5–11 years old today (Nov. 4) following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for that age group, officials said.
The first vaccinations will be offered from 4–6 p.m. in county-operated clinics such as the one at 2000 Dennis Ave. in Silver Spring.
Beginning Friday, the county-operated clinics will expand hours and offer pediatric vaccine on weekdays from 48 p.m. to focus on vaccinating children. In addition, there will be school-based clinics on Saturdays and Sundays, according to a press release.
“Having full approval to vaccinate kids from five to eleven is a game changer in our fight against COVID-19,” County Executive Marc Elrich said in the release, “Our focus now will be to get shots in the arms of as many kids as possible in an equitable way.”
Appointments will be required and can be scheduled online. The county has received the maximum weekly allocation of nearly 14,000 pediatric doses from the Maryland Department of Health for the first distribution to local health departments.
The vaccine will also be available at pharmacies, private physicians, and retailers such as CVS, Giant, Safeway, and Walgreens to help make the vaccination more available, officials said.
“Over the past recent weeks, we have worked diligently to prepare an infrastructure to meet the demand for the newly approved pediatric COVID vaccine,” said Dr. James Bridgers, the county’s acting health officer. “As more doses become available, we will aim to ensure that areas that have been hit hardest by COVID-19 are factored into the vaccine distribution process, so we have an equitable and effective roll-out.”
MCDHHS graphic
We will begin vaccinating children ages 5 to 11 years old tomorrow at County-operated clinics.
Read the press release:
https://t.co/bYfTpuFzWn pic.twitter.com/5jxjbz0eFD— Montgomery County DHHS (@MoCoDHHS) November 3, 2021