The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced that 900 providers in 155 Texas counties will receive Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will deliver 1,010,700 doses of the vaccine to providers while 349,200 doses will go to pharmacies in a federal program to vaccinate children from 5- to 11-years-old.
There are approximately 2.9 million children ages 5 to 11 in Texas.
More than 400,000 doses have already arrived and 162,000 are expected to arrive today. Delivery of the full amount will continue throughout the next week.
“Vaccinating children between the ages of 5 and 11 helps to protect all Texans from COVID-19,” said Dr. John Hellerstedt, DSHS commissioner. “Twenty-two Texas children between the ages of 5 and 11 have died from complications of COVID-19 and 118 have been diagnosed with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. The pediatric vaccine will further help reduce the spread of disease and prevent the rare but serious complications of COVID-19 in this age group.”
Emergency use authorization for the pediatric vaccine was issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and vaccines began arriving in Texas on Nov. 1.
For a full list of providers receiving the vaccine, click here.
DSHS recommends making an appointment or checking with a provider before getting vaccinated.