SC children 5-11 can get vaccinated against COVID-19, DHEC says. What parents should know
South Carolina children age 5-11 can now get vaccinated against COVID-19, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control officials announced Wednesday.
The move comes one day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for the age group.
“Approval of the Pfizer vaccine for ages 5-11 is a major step forward for South Carolina and the rest of our nation in our fight against COVID-19,” DHEC Director Dr. Edward Simmer said in a statement. “We want people to know that a great deal of research and analysis went into the approval of the vaccine for this age group. This research has shown that the vaccine is safe and effective in children ages 5 –11. The Food and Drug Administration and the CDC would not have signed off on using this vaccine with this age group without this research, and the same goes for DHEC.”
Doctors at the Medical University of South Carolina were joyful at the prospect of younger children being eligible for the vaccine.
“It’s like Christmas,” Dr. Allison Eckard, MUSC’s division director for pediatric infectious diseases, said during a press conference Wednesday.
She said the risks of COVID far outweigh the risks of any sort of reaction to the vaccine and the risk of having COVID.
“It is safe,” she said.
The CDC said the vaccine is 91% effective in preventing COVID-19 in children age 5-11.
Thousands of vaccine doses on the way
The newly eligible age group includes more than 436,300 children in South Carolina, according to DHEC.
DHEC was anticipating the FDA and CDC approval for the vaccine to come down this week. Last week, agency officials estimated they would start vaccinating young children by the end of this week.
The federal government is giving South Carolina 152,100 pediatric vaccine doses during the first week it’s available to children 5-11, DHEC said. The state has already received 60,000 doses and expects to have the rest by Friday.
The state will also get weekly shipments of the vaccine beginning next week.
Vaccines will be available to children at more than 250 vaccine providers, including several pediatricians and family practice providers, according to DHEC. Many hospital systems, DHEC health departments, rural health clinics and mobile vaccine vendors also are receiving the pediatric vaccine.
Prisma Health, one of the largest health care providers in the state, announced young children could get vaccinated at their sites as early as Thursday afternoon.
DHEC is also partnering with the state Department of Education to offer vaccine clinics to schools interested in hosting, DHEC’s Assistant State Epidemiologist Dr. Jane Kelly said.
Vaccine locations can be found at DHEC’s website: vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov/
DHEC advises parents to contact their health care providers prior to visiting a site to get vaccinated to make sure they are available.
“Just like a measles or polio shot, the COVID-19 vaccine will stave off this deadly virus and allow our children to safely attend school and focus on bettering themselves in the classroom,” Simmer said. “We strongly urge parents to learn more about this vaccine and protect their children by taking advantage of this life-saving opportunity.”
Children who get vaccinated in the next week will be fully immunized by the winter holidays, Kelly said.
What parents should know
Eckard said her biggest concern about children and COVID is the long-term effects children could have if they get the disease. There has been an increase in the number of children hospitalized at MUSC, she said, and none of them have been vaccinated.
Three children age 5-11 have died after contracting COVID-19, DHEC said.
Even if a child doesn’t get severely ill from COVID-19, there is still a chance they could pass it to someone who will, like an elderly grandparent, Kelly said.
Despite the known risks of the virus, Eckard said vaccine hesitancy is strong among South Carolina parents. In the 12-and up group, which has been eligible for months, 33% are fully vaccinated.
Vaccines like this one have been in development for decades.
“The only thing skipped was the red tape,” Eckard said.
Kelly encouraged parents with questions about the vaccine to talk to their child’s pediatrician or to their own primary care doctor. She warned they should stay away from social media and online resources.
“The sole purpose of the vaccine is to protect human health,” Kelly said.
This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 10:41 AM with the headline "SC children 5-11 can get vaccinated against COVID-19, DHEC says. What parents should know."
