Employees at Rady Children’s Hospital described it as “extremely busy” where about 500 children will have received their first dose of the vaccine, reports NBC 7’s Rory Devine.
Rady Children’s Hospital is now offering COVID-19 vaccines to babies and children under 5 and other hospitals will likely follow suit following approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Parents will have the option to give their little ones Moderna or Pfizer’s vaccine beginning Tuesday – roughly a year and a half after the first COVID-19 vaccination was given to a San Diegan.
The vaccines for children are given in smaller doses and each vaccine has different doses and age acceptances, so parents and guardians should consider the following:
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Moderna
- Authorized for children ages 6 months to 5 years
- Administered in two doses, given four weeks apart
- given with smaller needles and most times administered in the leg
Pfizer
- Authorized for children ages 6 months to 4 years
- Administered in three doses: first two given three weeks apart and the third dose at least weeks after the second shot.
- given with smaller needles and most times administered in the leg
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Rady Children’s Hospital has both options available, according to spokesperson Carlos Delgado.
“Some of the vaccines arrived just last week,” he told NBC 7. “I think we have a total of about 7,000 shots ready to go.”
Caretakers interested in getting their children inoculated at Rady Children’s Hospital are highly encouraged to make an appointment online. You can click here for more information on how to schedule a timeslot.
The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) said parents should contact their pediatrician's office, community clinics or retail pharmacies to schedule an appointment for shots for their children.
