NYC City-Run Vaccination Sites Today Provide Shots to 5 to 11-Year Olds, who also Receive $100

     by Yehudit Garmaise

     New York City-run vaccine sites are providing shots today to 5 to 11-year old children, who will receive $100 gift cards, just as their parents did.

     “I strongly encourage parents and caregivers to get children vaccinated, as soon as possible,” said Dave Chokshi, MD, the city’s health commissioner, who added, “With the vaccine, which is 90% effective in fighting COVID-19, we have the chance to make COVID a vaccine-preventative disease among kids: similar to Chicken Pox, Rubella, and Rotavirus: all diseases for which childhood immunization is now routine.

     "Let's do the same for COVID-19."

     While at the start of the pandemic, many health professionals said that children were not as likely to get COVID, said Jesse Perkel, who is the president of the New York state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, "Make no mistake about it: Children have been dramatically and severely affected by this virus.

     "More than six million children have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and the number is currently growing by more than 100,000 each week. Almost 700 children have died and more have been hospitalized and are in intensive care, and others have developed long-term complications."

     If New York City vaccinated every 5 to 11 year old, Dr. Chokshi said that an estimated 38,000 cases of COVID-19 could be prevented.

     "Many of these infections result in hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and long-term effects, like shortness of breath and brain fog," said Dr. Chokshi, who acknowledged that parents, who always wish to protect their children, have many questions about the vaccine for their children, should reach out to their doctors, nurses, and other health professionals to get the information they need.

     Also, parents can go online or call (877) VAX-4NYC to find locations that are vaccinating children today.

     New Yorkers can also call (212) COVID-19 to speak to healthcare professionals about the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine, which for children will be given in doses that are one-third the size as the doses that are given to adults.

     Children, just as adults do, wait three weeks between their two shots.

     Parents can bring their children, not just to city-run sites, but to their pediatricians’ offices, clinics, pharmacies, and hospitals, just two days as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authorized the shot for the emergency use of the shot for children.

     To prepare for the CDC’s approval of the shot, New York City pre-ordered more than 380,000 doses, which will be stocked at vaccine sites and healthcare providers citywide, in the coming days.

     Although the financial incentive of $100 might be tempting, the city’s top physicians have many times recommending taking children to get their shots to places that are familiar: like their pediatricians, Walgreens, and CVS.

     Although walk-ins are accepted, Mitch Katz, MD, the CEO of Health + Hospitals recommends making appointments, so as to not have to wait in long lines with children, which likely will be a problem, as a reporter on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s press call this morning spoke of pediatricians’ websites crashing as parents in New York City log on to make appointments to get their children vaccinated.

     Starting next week, every public school that is attended by kids ages 5 to 11 will have dedicated vaccination days for those students.

     “We know there is so much demand [for children to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Chokshi. “We want to broaden out our network as much as possible to get children vaccinated, and schools are a great site for us to do that.”

      "Starting Monday, every school that has kids in the 5 to 11-year old range will have vaccination site for one day, in the next days," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "We want to give parents that alternative because that is going to make it a lot easier."

     Ideally, the mayor said parents and guardians should bring their children to get vaccinated to give consent, but written and verbal consent will also be accepted.

     “At last parents can be confident, when their babies leave the house, that they have a powerful layer of protection against this disease,” said Schools Commissioner Meisha Ross-Porter, who said that schools have been preparing for weeks to vaccinate the city’s 1 million public school children.

(Darren McGee- Office of Formor Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)