RI begins giving COVID-19 vaccinations to younger children

CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) — The first COVID-19 vaccinations will be given to children ages 5-11 in Rhode Island Thursday morning as they are now eligible for the Pfizer shot.

Shots will start going into children’s arms at Cranston’s mass vaccination site at 7 a.m. Appointments went online Wednesday afternoon with slots posted through the end of November.

The Sockanosset Cross Road site is already fully booked through the beginning of next week.

Health experts say Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine was determined to be 90.7% effective against COVID-19 and no significant safety issues were identified.

The children’s vaccine is a third of the dose given to adults and requires two doses three weeks apart. Health officials warned parents to make sure the appointment being booked is for a younger child, since they cannot receive the vaccine made for adults.

Other than mass vaccination sites, the vaccine is also available at various pharmacies, school clinics, and will be provided through doctor’s offices.

Some parents told 12 News they were eagerly awaiting to sign their kids up to get vaccinated.

“The second I could sign her up, it was a sigh of relief, like, ‘OK, we’re getting there, almost going to cross the finish line,’ hopefully,” Ashley Reilly said. “From everything I’ve read about the vaccine, it’s been well developed, and it’s been proven to be safe and effective, and yeah, I can’t wait, and neither can she.”

Children who get vaccinated before Thanksgiving will be fully vaccinated by Christmas, officials noted.