COVID-19 vaccines for kids 5 to 11 available at Sedgwick County clinic
Children ages 5 to 11 can receive a COVID-19 vaccine in the Wichita area as soon as Thursday, Sedgwick County Health Department Director Adrienne Byrne said in a Wednesday afternoon news conference that comes on the heels of approval from federal health officials that makes the Pfizer-BioNTech shot available for that age group.
Sedgwick County has received 1,200 doses of the child-approved vaccine directly from Pfizer and plans to distribute it on a first-come-first-served basis through early next week, when an additional 3,500 doses are expected to arrive, Byrne said.
Vaccinations will be given at the county’s community clinic location at 223 S. Main St. — the former library — by appointment only. Available time slots will be posted on www.sedgwickcounty.org/covid19vaccine, and can be reserved starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Anyone who needs help making an appointment can call the health department at 316-660-1029.
The low-dose vaccines will be free through the Sedgwick County Health Department. Other locations in the Wichita-area will also be offering the vaccine for children. Byrne suggested parents contact local pharmacies and their doctors’ offices to check the availability.
You can also find COVID-19 vaccine providers using the Centers for Disease Control’s vaccine locator tool, www.vaccines.gov/search. As of Wednesday, a specific search option for pediatric doses was not available on the site, but that’s expected in the coming days.
The health department’s vaccine clinic is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Parents and guardians have to sign a consent form that asks for a birth date before their child can be vaccinated, but other proof of age is not required, Byrne said.
The health department also plans to hold special clinic hours on Nov. 11 — 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. — tailored specifically for 5- to 11-year-olds and their caregivers. Accommodations for kids every day at the clinic include privacy dividers, parent education and rewards.
Currently, pediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine are not available at the county’s mobile vaccination clinics. But Byrne said that is expected to change in the coming weeks as the county works with schools to increase access.
Although the Pfizer vaccine approved for use in young children is a third of an adult-sized dose — 10 micrograms compared to 30 micrograms — it still requires two doses given three weeks apart to achieve maximum protection. Side effects of receiving the vaccine appear to be similar in children as they are in adults, Byrne said, including possible soreness and redness at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain, and fever that comes on quickly but generally lasts only a day or two.
Byrne said the vaccine has undergone rigorous testing and trials to ensure its safety and effectiveness for 5- to 11-year-olds and encouraged parents to schedule an appointment as soon as possible.
“It helps us get closer to being able to manage this pandemic and move on,” she said.
This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 3:08 PM.
