Young children in New Jersey started to receivetheir first COVID vaccine shotson Wednesday, less than 24 hours after federal regulators approved a two-shot regimen for 5- to 11-year-olds in an effort health officials hope will continue to drive down cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
Among the first was Tommy Landa, 10, who received his initial shot atBergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus on Wednesday morning to applause from his parents and the hospital's staff.
"The moment I got into my car, it hit me that everyone in my family is vaccinated," said Tony Landa, Tommy's father. "The relief and hope I feel is palpable."
The vaccine made by Pfizer isone-third the dose of the adult vaccine. It will be delivered in two shots at least three weeks apart. Shots are free.
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Some providers began taking online appointments just hours after the Tuesdayapproval. They include:
- The state Health Department's vaccine finder webpage now includes a tab for "Pfizer 5+" and lists dozens of providers.https://covid19.nj.gov/pages/finder.
- Bergen County Vaccination Center at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center
- Essex Countyonlyfor those who live, work or study in the county.
- Burlington County Health Departmentwill openvaccination up to kids on Thursday.
- Somerset County
- CVS has begun booking appointments
- Walgreens is open for pediatric appointments.
- RiteAid
- Hackensack Meridian
- Atlantic Health
- Valley Health
- Cooper Health
- Holy Name Medical Center
The vaccine was nearly 91% effective in preventing COVID-19 amongchildren in clinical trials. Vaccine side effects were mildand similar to those seen in adults and with other vaccines recommended for children, officials at the Centers for Disease Control said upon approving the vaccine Tuesday night.
About 760,000 New Jersey children aged 5 to 11 are now eligible for the vaccine.
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The state pre-ordered 203,800 pediatric doses and plans to ship them to 230 sites in all 21 counties.
This includes65 primary care practices, 40 independent pharmacies, 37 county and municipal sites, 35 hospitals, 18 chain pharmacies, six urgent care facilities, and the Gloucester County mega-site.
"Pfizer pediatric doses has been delivered to some sites and will continue to be delivered over this week and into next week," said Donna Leusner, a state Health Department spokeswoman.
Another resource is the Facebook page "New Jersey COVID Vaccine Info" run by volunteers looking to help people book appointments.
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A bigger rollout may come next week.
The Biden administration ordered enough doses to cover all 28 million American children in the age group. The administration’s distribution program will be “running at full strength” the week of Nov. 8, presidential adviser Jeffrey Zients said Monday.
Children ages 5 to 10have becomethe predominant group testing positivefor the virusin New Jersey with93cases per 100,000 residents for the week ending on Oct. 23, according to the latest statistics from the Health Department. The next most prominent age group was 11 to 13-year-olds at 87 cases per 100,000. Spot testing has increased at New Jersey schools.
The vaccination approval comes as key COVID metrics includingcases and hospitalizationsbegan to fall last month in New Jersey and across the nation after a surge over the summer due to the highly contagious delta variant.
Demand may be high initially, but many parents are wary of getting their younger kids vaccinated.
A national poll released last week by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that only 27% of parents would get their 5- to 11-year-olds vaccinated right away, 33% will take a wait-and-see approach and 30% said they definitely would not let their children get the shots.
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New Jersey adolescents are not getting vaccinated at the rate health officials had hoped when they became eligible in May. Only57% of 12- to 15-year-olds have gotten at least one shot.
The state prepared similarly for the rollout of COVID boosters, but so far has not seen high demand for the shots. About 20% of the 2.7 million eligible for boosters have gotten one.
When online appointments became available at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center late Tuesday, all 50 spots for Wednesday afternoon were claimed within minutes. The hospital received 1,500 doses of the pediatric vaccine Wednesday morning and expects another 1,500 doses next week.
"Demand is very high right now," said Deborah Visconi, CEO of the hospital. "We expect that to last for some time."
Tony and Jennifer Landa said it was their son Tommy's decision to get the shot for a lot of reasons — but especially to see grandparents, who are immunocompromised, for the first time since the pandemic.
They said they researched the science behind the vaccines as well as the result of Pfizer'sclinical trials. There have been reports of two heart ailments — myocarditis and pericarditis — occurring in a very small number of patients after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination, especially male adolescents and young adults. Although Tony Landa said his family has a history of heart trouble, he said COVID presents a much greater risk of damaging the heart.
"As much as we want to protect ourselves, we want to protect those around us," said Jennifer Landa. "We want to do our part to help everyone in healing."
This article contains information from USA Today
Scott Fallon has covered the COVID-19 pandemic since its onset in March 2020. To get unlimited access to the latest news about the pandemic's impact on New Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email:fallon@northjersey.com
Twitter:@newsfallon
