COVID-19 vaccination opportunities arrive for Henrico children 5 to 11

A handful of COVID-19 vaccination opportunities are available in the Richmond region for children 5 to 11 Wednesday, and the Pfizer vaccine – which earned final federal approval for that age group Tuesday – is expected to become increasingly available for children each day, as the first 377,000 doses allocated by the federal government to Virginia arrive in the state by Nov. 9.

Some doses should be available at Richmond Raceway as soon as Thursday, according to the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts. Several Walgreens locations in the region will offer the vaccine beginning Saturday, while some local CVS stores plan to begin offering it Sunday.

Pediatricians, other pharmacies and other RHHD events also will begin offering the vaccine for children soon, according to officials. Availability in most spots should begin in earnest Monday. Parents and guardians are being encouraged to check with their child’s pediatrician or local pharmacy to learn more.

“Parents can expect to see some vaccination opportunities this week, with more coming next week and the following,” said RHHD Nurse Manager Amy Popovich. “While there is some logistics involved in receiving shipments of the lower dosage vaccine, we anticipate all eligible kids who want to be vaccinated should be able to access an appointment this month.”

Limited appointments for children are available now through http://vax.rchd.com and by calling the health department at (804) 205-3501. More appointment slots will be added through the website soon, according to RHHD spokesperson Cat Long.

"We don't anticipate the same level of difficulty for kids to get vaccinated that we saw for adults at the beginning of the vaccination effort," she told the Citizen.

There are about 723,000 children between the ages of 5 and 11 in Virginia, according to state vaccination coordinator Danny Avula, and state officials are allocating initial doses of the vaccine according to the vaccination rates of children and teens 12 to 17. That's why, for example, five Northern Virginia localities are getting about 40% of the initial doses, he said.

More than half of all initial doses are going to the 400 pediatricians statewide that registered to serve as vaccination distribution sites and to other doctors' offices that serve children, he said. Another 35% or so are going to pharmacies, and about 7% to community vaccination centers, or CVCs, like the one currently operating at Richmond Raceway.

Within a week or so, most parents and guardians who want to have their children vaccinated should be able to find a number of opportunities to do so, Avula said. He conceded that misinformation and vaccine resistance could be more challenging for this new age group than with any other and said that's why partnerships with pediatricians – people who are trusted by parents and guardians – would be so important.

And, he suggested that in addition to the health benefits of the vaccine for children, a related practical benefit would be the elimination of potential missed school days, since fully vaccinated students do not need to quarantine if they are in close contact with someone who has tested positive. (In Henrico, an unvaccinated person who's had close contact with an infected person must remain out of school for 10 days after exposure, or eight days if they test negative five or more days after the exposure.)

The Virginia Department of Health will launch informational campaigns soon to inform parents about the benefits of vaccinating their children and is using a social media-monitoring service to help it quickly react to concerns or misinformation efforts that it detects within the community, he said.

Already, a primary concern for some who oppose vaccinating children is a perceived risk of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. Though no cases were detected in the several thousand children who participated in Pfizer's trial, Avula said officials would expect about 35 to 45 such cases to occur for every one million children vaccinated.

But, "on the benefits side, the vaccination of a million people would result in the prevention of 11,000 cases of COVID, over 500 hospitalizations, 120 ICU admissions and 6 deaths," he said, adding that four of his five children already are vaccinated and the fifth, who is 9, will get vaccinated this week or next.

In order for their children to be vaccinated at an RHHD event, the health department initially will require parents or guardians to reserve appointments for their children. Walk-ups will be served if sufficient supply of the vaccine exists, but otherwise, officials will schedule children for appointments elsewhere, officials said.

Children should be accompanied by an adult 18 for older in order to receive a vaccine. If the adult is not a parent or guardian of the child, they will be asked to confirm verbally that they have the permission of a parent of guardian to have the child vaccinated.

Also Wednesday, RHHD officials announced that the state-operated community vaccination center at Richmond Raceway will close following Saturday’s vaccinations and will move to the Arthur Ashe Junior Athletic Center at 3001 Arthur Ashe Boulevard in Richmond (next to The Diamond) beginning Monday, Nov. 8.

There, children and adults 12 and older will be able to make appointments or simply walk up to receive the Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer or Moderna vaccines and available booster shots, while children 5 to 11 for whom appointments have been made will be able to receive the Pfizer vaccine.