Valley health providers aren’t wasting any time in efforts to get the newly approved COVID-19 vaccines into the arms of children between the ages of 5 and 11.

The Ohio Department of Health says it expects a large portion of the more than 367,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 pediatric vaccine formulation to arrive in Ohio over the coming days.

During a news conference on Wednesday, state health officials said that children’s doses are already available and can immediately be administered to children ages 5-11.

Health officials say children are less likely than adults to get severely ill from COVID-19, but they can become ill, sometimes seriously along with sometimes lasting complications.

As of this week, more than 2,000 Ohio children under 18 had been hospitalized with COVID-19, and 15 had died. Nationally, the virus has taken the lives of nearly 800 children.

To date, more than 247 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered in the United States, helping to prevent severe cases of COVID-19 resulting in hospitalization and death.

A smaller dose of Pfizer vaccine, one-third of the adult size, has been studied and tested in clinical trials which showed that the pediatric formulation was nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infections. No serious side effects were detected. 

The pediatric COVID-19 vaccine will be available in all 88 counties, with more than 367,000 doses are set to arrive in Ohio on a staggered schedule over the coming days during the first week of vaccine administration, including 252,300 ordered through the state’s allocation and 115,200 ordered by pharmacies through the federal retail pharmacy program.

Here are some providers who have already announced plans to administer the pediatric vaccine:

Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County

Tuesday, November 9: Main Library, 305 Wick Ave., 11:30 a.m.- 6:15 p.m.
Tuesday, November 23: Newport Library. 3730 Market St.., 11:30 a.m.- 6:15 p.m.

Akron Children's Hospital

• Appointments can be made for children 5 and older at Akron Children’s community vaccination clinics on its Akron and Beeghly campuses. Appointments can be made at akronchildrens.org/covidvaccine.

Trumbull County Combined Health District

• Thursday, November 4, 2021, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at the health district offices, 176 Chestnut Ave. NE, Warren Ohio 44483.
• Only children 5 years of age through 18 years of age will be eligible.
• A $100 VISA Gift Card will be given to those children who receive their first dose of the Pfizer at the vaccine clinic while supplies last.
• To speed up your check-in process people are encouraged to visit the website (www.tcchd.org) to download, print, and complete the COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Record form
• A parent must be present with the child to receive the vaccine.

CVS Health

• 40 locations in Ohio starting Sunday, November 7, 2021
• Visit www.cvs.com to make an appointment.

 Additional doses will continue to be delivered to providers in Ohio, including local health departments, pediatricians, family physicians, community health centers, adult and children’s hospitals, and pharmacies.