Children in Mississippi between the ages of 5 and 11 could have the chance to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by Thanksgiving. Vaccine manufacturer Pfizer has requested the FDA to approve a coronavirus vaccination for children ages 5 to 11 under emergency use authorization.
Dr. Anita Henderson, President of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, says some parents have listed their children on a waitlist for the vaccine, and will be notified when it is available. She says the vaccine for this new age group will likely be a smaller dose than what is given to adults.
“It does have a good antibody production,” says Dr. Henderson. “We don’t have all the data yet, and obviously with any medical procedure, we want to make sure the benefits certainly outweigh any risk. We have seen so many children get sick this year, particularly with the Delta [variant] surge, so we are excited about any opportunity we have to prevent disease in children.”
Coronavirus vaccines for the 5 to 11-year-old age group will be available at pediatric offices and county health departments when they are approved by the FDA. Dr. Henderson says they will not be available at pharmacies.
Flu vaccinations are available across the state, and Dr. Henderson says parents should have their families vaccinated to prevent a possible “Twindemic.”
“We’ve already started to see some circulating influenza within Mississippi through the surveillance system so we know we are going to have more flu this year compared to last year just because all those mitigation measures have been lifted,” says Dr. Henderson. “So that’s why we’re really encouraging parents to get themselves and their children vaccinated against Flu right now.”
The Flu and coronavirus vaccines can be taken at the same time, and the flu vaccine is available for anyone six months or older. Masks have been found to be effective ways at preventing both the coronavirus and the flu.
