COVID-19 vaccines began being released for children between the ages of six months and 4 years in the United States this week.
That means approximately 20 million babies, toddlers, and preschoolers under the age of 5 are now eligible for injections after they were authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week.
As of Wednesday, 2.7 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been delivered nationwide, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told ABC News.
Parents who want to schedule appointments can visit vaccines.gov, a website run jointly by HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and VaccineFinder at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Vaccines.gov was launched on Tuesday, a few days earlier than expected. There are currently 1,591 locations on the website that include a combination of children’s hospitals, doctor’s offices, community sites, clinics and pop-ups that offer injections.
Deni Valenzuela, 2, receives her first dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine from nurse Deborah Sampson while being held by her mother Xihuitl Mendoza at UW Medical Center – Roosevelt, June 21, 2022, in Seattle.
David Ryder / Getty Images
To use the tool, people can click on the home page button that says “Find vaccines against COVID-19”.
On the next page, users enter their zip code and click on the type of vaccine, depending on the age group they would like to receive.
It is important to select the correct age group because the Pfizer three-dose vaccine for children is three micrograms each, one-tenth of the dose offered to adults, while the Moderna two-dose vaccine is 25 micrograms each, a quarter of its adult dose. .
Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and a contributor to ABC News, said the number of locations is expected to increase to more than 10,000 in the coming weeks as more locations receive your shipments.
“Of course, we understand that there is a lot of anxiety and parents have been waiting a long time to get these vaccines,” Brownstein said. “At some point, supply will exceed demand. Any parent will have access to it in the next few days. It will take time to get vaccines, but there will be enough to supply.”
The Biden administration has said it finally expects 85% of children under the age of 5 to live within five miles of a potential vaccination site.
“HHS has received orders of approximately 4.2 million doses so far,” the agency told ABC News. “We made 10 million doses of vaccine available to order initially, with millions more available soon, so supply should not be a barrier for someone to vaccinate their young child.”
For those who do not have access to the Internet or do not know the Internet, they can call 1-800-232-0233, which offers help to schedule appointments in English, Spanish and other languages.
Brownstein also recommends that people contact their GPs or pediatricians to schedule an appointment or ask where to find appointments.
“It simply came to our notice then [to contact them]”That’s where you have a formal relationship.”
A 4-year-old child receives a COVID-19 vaccine for children under five at Skippack Pharmacy in Schwenksville, Penn., On June 21, 2022.
Hannah Beier / Reuters
It can be difficult to vaccinate this younger age group if it is not advisable to do so.
According to the CDC, only about 30% of American children between the ages of 5 and 11 have been vaccinated compared to 75% of children over the age of 12.
In addition, many young children will not be able to receive their vaccines at pharmacies because many states do not allow trained pharmacists or pharmacy staff to vaccinate children under the age of 3.
ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.