In light of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) approval on November 2 for children aged 5-to-11 to take the COVID-19 vaccine, Santa Clara County is now providing vaccinations for children in that age range. It is estimated that just north of 167,000 Santa Clara County residents are between ages 5 and 11.
Vaccinations started being administered to kids via County providers on Wednesday morning (November 3). As of now, only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for this usage, and children are receiving smaller doses of it than adults. No proof of insurance is required, nor are vaccine recipients questioned as to their immigration status. In addition, consistent with the norms of this pandemic, all vaccines for children will be free until further notice.
Walk-in locations and appointment-setting options can be found here (it being noted that many appointment slots have already been filled, a situation that is expected to change as vaccine supply increases in the weeks to come). Santa Clara County residents are also encouraged to communicate directly with their healthcare providers for other options.
Dr. Sara Cody, Health Officer and Director of Public Health for the County of Santa Clara, said in a County statement, “This is an important step in protecting our children and our community, providing relief for families, and creating an additional level of protection to maintain in-person learning for our schools. We encourage all parents with children aged 5 and older to get their children vaccinated now.”
Come November 4, tomorrow, some 80 school locations within the county will also begin to serve as vaccination sites.
Said the County’s statement in closing, “Vaccinations are the number one tool to prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19.”
