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NYC health officials promise 'shots for tots' vaccine rollout, but overall supplies could be limited

By

Sophia Chang

Published Jun 17, 2022

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A baby in a carriage holds a bottle and a phone in New York City, November 11th, 2021

 

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

By

Sophia Chang

Published Jun 17, 2022

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New York City health officials are getting ready for what they’re calling “shots for tots” as the federal government finalizes authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for children between ages 6 months to 5 years old.

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s anticipated rubberstamp of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine applications, the last potential group of unprotected American children will be able to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The pandemic has killed about 442 kids nationwide under 5 years old and has been consistently deadlier than infectious diseases like the flu. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is expected to meet on the applications this weekend, city health officials said.

Supplies are unlikely to be as universal as past vaccine rollouts because Congress hasn’t renewed pandemic funding. The Biden Administration, as a result, has had to shift its dwindling pandemic funds and cut programs — and it cannot purchase a vaccine supply at the scale seen during previous rollouts. The White House is expected to acquire only 10 million doses, which it can then make freely available to states and pharmacies. For comparison, the U.S. had administered 512 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine through the first year of its rollout.

But local governments and health care providers can make new individual contracts with the drugmakers.

Once given the greenlight, the city says it will offer Moderna’s two-dose vaccine at several city-run sites as soon as June 22nd. Some local pharmacies and providers may also have the vaccines available as soon as June 21st. New York City’s COVID-19 Vaccine Finder will be updated on that day to include information on where kids under five years old can get vaccinated at pharmacies and clinics, according to city officials.

State law restricts pharmacies to offer COVID vaccinations to children aged 3 and up, according to Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, who used to chair the New York City Council’s health committee. Younger children can be vaccinated at the city sites and at their pediatrician's office.

“We are looking to make this process as seamless as possible for parents, which is why we’re preparing, through city sites and partnerships with trusted pediatricians, to vaccinate and protect all of our children as soon as this vaccine is ready and shipped,” said Mayor Eric Adams in a press release Friday. “Parents will also have numerous opportunities to ask their questions and should feel comfortable knowing this vaccine is safe and vital to their children’s health.”

An email this afternoon to patients from Tribeca Pediatrics, which has three dozen locations in the city, read, “We are working with the Department of Health and plan to obtain the Pfizer vaccine for all of (our) locations and offer it at well visits.” The Pfizer vaccine is a three-dose regimen.

One pediatrician told Gothamist that parents may see their kids experience “minimal” side effects as some children in the drug trials did.

“Of all the kids they've given it to, there's been maybe a little fever, a little discomfort for a brief period of time, but it's been very minimal,” said Dr. Jesse Hackell, the head of the state American Academy of Pediatrics’s Chapter 3, which covers Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester County.

“And while we know that not too many kids get severely ill [from COVID-19], enough do that it's worth offering the protection to your child,” Hackell added.

Natasha Diaz of Windsor Terrace has two young daughters, one who is 3 months old and the other nearly 3 years old and born a few months before the pandemic hit New York City.

Diaz said she’s been waiting for this moment.

“I've never taken my daughter into a supermarket, into a library, into a museum, to a movie. We've never done anything indoors. She hasn't met family members, we haven't been able to do holidays, we haven’t done anything,” Diaz said. “To be honest with you, I am thrilled. And I'm also still furious that it took this long.”

She said she’s frustrated that the vaccines that kids are getting “are only minimally effective and that they're not going to be fully preventative against long COVID.”

Diaz added, “But at the very least, I just wanted to get this minimal level of protection for my kids before we get infected, which I know is inevitable at this point.”

The city’s 10 pediatric vaccination hubs will offer Moderna vaccines starting June 22nd at the following locations:

MANHATTAN

QUEENS

BRONX

STATEN ISLAND

BROOKLYN

Tagged

COVID-19

new york city

infant

children

toddler

vaccine

Sophia Chang

Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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