Children ages 5-11 may soon be able to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
White House officials announced Wednesday that they have already collected enough doses of the vaccine to vaccinate all 28 million kids who fall in that age group in the U.S., with the plan of making these available at more than 25,000 doctor's offices, pharmacies, and even school and community clinics.
Dr. Tina Stefanski, Medical Director of the Office of Public Health in Acadiana, told KATC it looks like there will be one major difference between this dose and the ones currently on the market.
"What it looks like based on the current information that we've got is that it'll be a smaller dose," Stefanski said. "So about a third of the dose that adults and older children are getting."
Stefanski said the vaccines could be available as soon as early November, confirming that more than a quarter of Tuesday's coronavirus cases are in children 17 years old and younger.
Some parents we spoke with told KATC they are excited to get their kids vaccinated.
"You know, it's been such a long road to get here," said mother of 3, Lillian Keil. "And our kids haven't been in a school in almost like two years now; we actually pulled them out and home-schooled. So I think I'm just ready for things to go back to normal."
Other parents we spoke to, however, were not interested in the vaccine for kids — and they did not want to go on the record about it.
Stefanski added that regardless of one's stance on the vaccine, there is a bottom line to make note of: keep up with basic preventative measures such as washing your hands regularly, wearing a mask, and getting vaccinated if you can.
Pfizer manufactured the doses with a new formula made specifically for the age group, according to the White House. Details about the White House's plan were released weeks after Pfizer asked the FDA to approve a smaller dose of its COVID-19 vaccine for use in kids ages 5-11 for emergency use. The FDA will meet to discuss the application on October 26 and could issue a formal recommendation within days. That would clear the way for the CDC to issue its own recommendation on November 2 or 3.
READ MORE: White House releases details on its plan to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to kids aged 5 to 11
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