CHARLESTON, W.Va. — One day after the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation that children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine, shots were going into the arms of children at the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department (KCHD) and around the state.
Dr. Sherri Young, Health Officer and Executive Director of the KCHD told MetroNews that her staff vaccinated multiple young children Wednesday night and continued to do so on Thursday. The CDC’s recommendation came on Tuesday, bringing 28 million children nationwide a step closer to being protected against the coronavirus.
Young said this is an important hurdle to cross in the pandemic.
“Schools are a large source of outbreaks. We want kids to be in school, we want kids to play sports, we want kids to interact,” Young said.
“We know we are going into the holiday season where kids will be traveling with their parents. So we urge not only the parents to come in and get their vaccines if they haven’t, but now we can get those 5 to 11-year-olds.”
Young said if an adult has any questions about the vaccine to talk to their child’s pediatrician. On Wednesday, pediatricians in West Virginia spoke out about the need for COVID-19 vaccinations for young children during an event with Gov. Jim Justice.
Young asked those with vaccine hesitancy to also study the numbers about the shots.
“The numbers of people who have been vaccinated without any consequence and the number of people who are in hospitals or ICU that are unvaccinated versus those who have been vaccinated,” Young said.
“This is a widely studied, widely spread. Hundreds of millions of doses of this vaccine have been distributed across the world.”
According to the state Department of Health and Human Resources, 429 of the 543 (79%) of those hospitalized with the virus have not been vaccinated. 85.9% of the 192 people in the ICU with COVID-19 in West Virginia have not been vaccinated.
The vaccine will be available at a drive-through clinic on Monday, November 8 from 1-5 p.m. at the Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center on Charleston’s West Side.
In addition to the vaccine availability at the KCHD daily, plans are being finalized with Kanawha County Schools for school-based clinics to occur in the coming weeks, based around vaccine availability and school schedule.
KCHD encouraged parents to stay tuned to social media and their child’s school for the schedule of vaccinations. Parental/guardian consent forms will be distributed via Schoology and are required prior to a child receiving a vaccine, a release said.
“This pandemic is not over. This pandemic by far is still ongoing. We have the chance to get out of this pandemic. One of the only ways to get out of it is for us to be fully vaccinated,” Young said.
COVID-19 testing and vaccinations continue to be held Monday through Friday, 8 am – 3:30 pm at the KCHD on Lee Street in Charleston. Seasonal flu vaccines are also available.
No appointment is necessary for testing or vaccinations. For more information on testing, vaccines, and all other public health services visit www.kchdwv.org or call the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department at (304) 348-8080.