Officials urge parents to be patient, as doses will be limited initially
D.C. public health officials on Friday announced a detailed plan to vaccinate 5- to 11-year-olds against the coronavirus, including pop-up clinics at schools, as the nation prepares for emergency use authorization of the vaccine for the largest group of children yet.
U.S. coronavirus cases tracker and map ArrowRight
Locally, the vaccine will be available in select pharmacies and pediatric practices in D.C. and Children’s National Hospital locations, but across the Washington region, experts say supply hiccups may echo the early days of vaccine availability.
Officials are asking for patience from parents eager to get their children vaccinated as supplies of the low-dose vaccine for this age group make their way around the country, while at the same time they plan targeted education and outreach for at-risk populations.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
“It’s going to take months to get vaccine coverage for 5- to 11-year-olds up to a level where we all can breathe a little easier. Unfortunately, I think we will see disparities,” said Jennifer Kates, director of global health at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Of the 15 million children’s doses the federal government made available in an initial allotment to states and jurisdictions, D.C., Maryland and Virginia are poised to receive about 600,000 — enough to vaccinate nearly half of eligible children in those areas.
Health departments are preparing vaccine — specially dosed, formulated and packaged for younger children — for administration as soon as Tuesday, pending federal endorsement. Officials are directing parents to vaccines.gov to search for appointments.
Story continues below advertisement
Like the states, D.C. was allocated vaccine based on its population of eligible 5- to 11-year-olds, meaning officials expect to receive 24,600 doses initially, including 6,600 doses for pharmacies and 4,800 for the children’s hospital.
Advertisement
But the city has the largest proportion of 5- to 11-year-olds who are people of color than any state, and this group has been harder to reach with the vaccine. So officials “have to work harder and start earlier” to overcome access issues, said Kates, who co-authored a Kaiser policy paper on the vaccine rollout.
More than 60 private pharmacies and pediatrician’s offices in the District will start offering pediatric vaccines the first week they are available, according to Patrick Ashley, the health department’s head of emergency response.
Story continues below advertisement
The city will also host 31 one-time clinics in schools and recreation centers in every ward between Nov. 8 and 20. Appointments will not be necessary at most clinics and parents must accompany their children, Ashley said.
The pharmacies include select CVS, Giant, Grubb’s, Safeway, Walgreens and Walmart locations, according to D.C. Health.
Advertisement
Children’s National Hospital will offer vaccine to eligible children at inpatient facilities, specialty outpatient clinics and 14 primary care offices in D.C. and Maryland, said Claire Boogaard, a pediatrician and medical director of the hospital’s COVID-19 Vaccine Program.
Children’s National Hospital is also spearheading the city’s effort to vaccine 5- to 11-year-olds in neighborhoods hit hard by the pandemic.
Story continues below advertisement
A mobile unit already deployed to certain schools in wards 7 and 8 where kids are behind on vaccinations will offer the low-dose vaccine to eligible children, she said.
The hospital will hold invite-only large-scale vaccine events on four Saturdays in November and December for the most at-risk patients, based on medical complexities and where they live.
The effort is focused on priority Zip codes in wards 7 and 8 as well as Prince George’s County, where residents have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus, Boogaard said. They aim to give out hundreds of vaccines at each event, she said.
Advertisement
Nationally, about one-third of parents of children 5 to 11 say they will seek out vaccine for them as soon as it’s available, according to Kaiser polling data.
Story continues below advertisement
But just like when the vaccine first rolled out to adults, primary care practices may not be the quickest route to vaccination.
The primary care practice at Children’s Hospital on Wednesday encouraged parents to go to pharmacies or clinics because pediatricians would have limited doses for office visits.
“We fully anticipate we will be able to vaccinate — and have enough supply to vaccinate — everyone who wants it. If everyone wants it on Day 1, it’s unrealistic to think everyone will get it on the first day,” Boogaard said.
Dan Finkelstein, a pediatrician with Capitol Medical Group in Chevy Chase, Md., said his practice will probably receive enough doses to vaccinate less than 2 percent of its 7,500 patients who are 5- to 11-years-old.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
That means canceling a large-scale vaccination clinic, and waiting for future shipments to satisfy parents eager to protect children, many of whom are back to in-person school and activities.
“We have made extensive preparations assuming we would get a bunch of vaccine right off the bat and it doesn’t appear that is going to be the case,” he said.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) this week said the state expects to receive 180,000 doses at first and about 515,000 children will be eligible.
Jinlene Chan, deputy secretary of the Maryland Department of Health, has said the allocation is more than the state has gotten at one time in previous rollouts and more will come in subsequent weeks.
Story continues below advertisement
In addition to pediatric offices and pharmacies, health department spokesman Andrew Owen said nearly every school system in the state will hold clinics, which he called “one of the best ways to provide an efficient and equitable means for most 5- to 11-year-old Marylanders.”
Advertisement
Clinics at schools are also part of the strategy in Virginia, but the events will mostly be held after school hours and on weekends because parents generally want to be present, especially for younger children, said Danny Avula, a pediatrician and the state’s vaccine coordinator.
Virginia expects to receive 377,000 vaccines at first, including 125,000 for pharmacies. By far the largest allocation — 151,500 doses — will go to the city of Alexandria and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties because Northern Virginia had the greatest uptake of vaccine among 12- to 15-year-olds, he said.
Story continues below advertisement
“I’m not at all worried about not having enough vaccine,” Avula said. “Not only are we getting enough vaccine to be positioned for the rollout, it’s not like everyone who wants to be vaccinated will do it on the first day or in the first week.”
Advertisement
Rebecca Levorson, a pediatric infectious-disease doctor at Inova, said the health system plans to hold vaccine clinics at the Inova Center for Personalized Health, across from Fairfax Hospital, starting Nov. 6, for 10 consecutive weekends.
The system will use music, costumed princesses and specialists to try to make the experience upbeat and ease anxious children — and parents.
Soon, she said, parents can “breathe a deep sigh of relief to be able to say, ‘I have done everything I can to try and protect my child.’ ”
Julie Zauzmer Weil and Lena H. Sun contributed to this report
Vaccine eligibility for mood disorders underscores elevated covid risk
Service dogs navigate the challenges of covid: ‘The dog doesn’t understand social distancing’
Coronavirus rates decline in the DMV, but flu season poses new threat
Local newsletters: Local headlines (8 a.m.) | Afternoon Buzz (4 p.m.)
Like PostLocal on Facebook | Follow @postlocal on Twitter | Latest local news