BEAUMONT, Texas — Children in parts of Texas have been able to roll up their sleeves less than 24 hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director gave the final OK for Pfizer BioNTech’s vaccine for those ages 5 to 11.
In Southeast Texas, we've been unable to find any pharmacy or health department that is giving out the shot as of Wednesday. Most said they'll just need a few days to roll out the doses.
Pharmacies are also taking a few days to get everything in order. The first appointment available at Walgreens is Saturday, and at CVS it's Sunday
Parents and health officials aren't wasting any time. CVS stores in Beaumont are already booked for appointments.
Walgreens and the Texas Children's Hospital still have spots available and the Port Arthur Health Department is preparing its vaccine distribution next week.
Roughly 24,000 children between the ages 5 through 11 living in Jefferson County are now approved to get their COVID-19 vaccine
Adriana Smoak is the mother of one of those children.
“She's known about it this entire time. When I got my vaccine she said she wish she could,” Smoak said.
Smoak said she and her 10-year-old have been waiting for the CDC’s approval for her daughter's age group since the initial vaccine rollouts on Tuesday when the CDC gave the go-ahead
“Then I went online and registered in a few minutes,” Smoak said.
While Smoak was eager to get her daughter vaccinated, other parents like Bryan Longmire were hesitant leading up to the CDC's decision.
“I wouldn't want to put anything in her body that wasn't completely necessary,” Longmire said.
Smoak had her fears too but ultimately decided to get her daughter vaccinated.
“The government and the experts ultimately want what's best for all Americans as a whole they want us alive,” Smoak said.
One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said her child has a heart disease, and she doesn't feel comfortable giving her child the vaccine.
Experts are addressing parents' concerns.
“We definitely want parents to look at the benefits of the vaccine versus the risk of those children not getting vaccinated and the risk of them getting infected with the virus,” Port Arthur Health Director Judith Smith.
The Pfizer vaccine for children 5-11 is different. Smith said it's a smaller dose.
“The children that the vaccines were actually administered to did really, really well, so these vaccines are safe,” Smith said.
“She's getting it because it's available she's getting it because of the risks,” Smoak said.
Ask your child's health care provider before making your decision to get your child vaccinated the Port Arthur Health Department will begin administering shots to this age group next Wednesday, November 10.