Vaccine appointments for kids in Washington may be ‘hard to find’ at first, should open up

While excitement is growing now that a COVID-19 vaccine has been authorized for kids ages 5-11, there may not be appointments available immediately for this age group. That said, long-term supply of pediatric doses is not expected to be an issue.

Parents ‘can breathe sigh of relief’ as vaccine rollout for children begins in Washington

“So far, about 57,000 doses have arrived in the state of the over 300,000 that there are current orders for,” said Michele Roberts, acting assistant secretary with the Washington State Department of Health.

Roberts says it’s going to take a couple of weeks for supplies in the state to stabilize, but there will soon be enough vaccines for all school-aged children in Washington.

Public Health — Seattle & King County is telling parents to be patient as some local providers may not receive pediatric doses until next week. The department says county vaccine sites will not have appointments available for young kids just yet, but there is a waitlist available for all age groups.

“The vaccine will provide health benefits, not only to our children, but to the environments in which they gather, to families, and to our community,” King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin said Thursday.

“The pediatric doses have begun arriving,” Duchin continued. “… However, we know that as with any new eligibility group in the first couple of weeks, supplies will be tight and likely not be sufficient to meet the initial demand and appointments will be hard to find initially.”

Duchin noted that’s expected to be a temporary problem and there should be plenty of doses for the younger population in the next couple of weeks.

The county expects appointments to start coming available at its sites Thursday and Friday, but more so Friday, according to Dr. Duchin. You can register for the county’s waiting list now, and you will receive a call when there is an appointment available, he explained. Duchin also said that vaccines for kids will soon be available in pharmacies, community health centers, as well as at some pediatric practices.

“We think there will be lots of availability over the coming weeks, between the sites that we sponsor with our partners, our King County Public Health sites, large health care providers, the community health clinics, and the pharmacies,” he said. “Keep looking, but understand that as with any rollout in a new age group, the demand often exceeds the supply initially, but we don’t expect to see vaccine shortages.”

The Pfizer vaccine approved for children is formulated specifically for the 5-11 age group and is a smaller dose. Kids aged 5-11 cannot get the Pfizer vaccine for ages 12 and up. Families are asked to make sure they make an appointment for a Pfizer vaccination for the appropriate age as doses become available.

COVID vaccine for children avoids ‘devastating’ illness, says Mercer Island MD

UW Medicine gave its first COVID vaccines to 5-11 year-olds Wednesday. Skagit County says it has 50 appointments already booked for Thursday and Friday.

By next week, it’s expected that many doctors’ offices, pharmacies, and even school-based or public clinics in Washington will start giving shots to elementary aged kids, and some of those places are scheduling appointments in advance now.

Use the state’s Vaccine Locator tool for more information on where to access a vaccine or booster dose.

The KIRO Radio Newsdesk contributed to this report.

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