SALT LAKE CITY — Utah parents who have been waiting and wondering about when they can get their small child vaccinated against COVID-19, this is the week they’ve been waiting for.
Last week, the Federal Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children under 5 years old. With so many young children in Utah, it is big news for families hoping to get their youngest children vaccinated.
The shots will be available in Utah as early as Tuesday for preschoolers, toddlers and children as young as six months old.
Officials with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services confirmed they have already ordered 32,000 doses of the vaccine for children, which will be arriving this week.
“The health department, I think wisely, is going to emphasize getting vaccine into the hands of pediatricians and family practitioners so that parents can get their kids vaccinated at places where they’re used to getting vaccinated," said Dr. Andy Pavia with University of Utah Health. "We’ll also have vaccines available at a number of pharmacies that are willing to vaccinate children, and at the Salt Lake County Health Department and probably at some of the other county health departments.”
Children five years of age and younger are the last group to be approved to receive the COVID vaccine, which Pavia calls a big step in the fight against the coronavirus in Utah communities.