ATLANTA — Several metro Atlanta health systems are now offering COVID-19 vaccines to younger children.
The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved COVID-19 vaccines in children ages 5-11 earlier this month.
The health departments in Cherokee, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield counties started giving the vaccine Monday. No appointments are needed.
The DeKalb County Board of Health is offering vaccinations to kids at regional health center locations.
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The Fulton County Board of Health (FCBOH) and the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency (AFCEMA) will begin providing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to children between the ages of 5 and 11 years of age on Tuesday.
Those existing vaccination locations include:
- Fulton County Government Center, 141 Pryor Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
- 5710 Stonewall Tell Road, College Park, GA 30349
- 4700 North Point Parkway, Alpharetta GA 30305
- Emma Darnell Aviation Museum & Conference Center (formerly the Aviation Community Cultural Center), 3900 Aviation Circle, NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30336
At least one company is already providing shots to children.
Viral Solutions organizes COVID-19 vaccine and testing clinics in Georgia. Appointments for children are now available online. Parents are asked to bring insurance and ID to the visit.
Viral Solutions said supplies are currently limited.
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The CDC advisory committee voted 14 to 0 to approve the lower dose COVID-19 vaccine on Nov. 1.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed off on the recommendation around 8 p.m. Tuesday.
“In clinical trials, vaccine side effects were mild, self-limiting, and similar to those seen in adults and with other vaccines recommended for children,” CDC officials said. “The most common side effect was a sore arm.”
The authorization expands the COVID-19 vaccine to 28 million kids in the U.S. There are around 1 million children in the 5 - 11 age group in Georgia.
The state tracks data for kids aged 5-10 . At least 73,000 of them have gotten COVID-19. More than half of those cases were in the last three months.
Many vaccine clinics and pediatricians’ offices in Georgia have already received doses of the vaccine in anticipation of them being approved for children.
At least 22 children have died of COVID-19 in Georgia since the start of the pandemic.
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