Fresno County youth ages 5-11 might start getting COVID shots in a few days. Here’s when
Fresno County health officials on Friday said it’s only a matter of a short time before local children ages 5-11 will start getting COVID vaccines — possibly in the next few days.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted in favor of authorizing Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5-11 on Oct. 26 based on data that shows the shots safely help kids produce robust immune responses against the coronavirus.
The vaccine would be administered in two small doses, a third of the amount given to teens and adults, given three weeks apart. Officials found the smaller dose offered adequate protection and led to less intense side effects.
Three days later on Friday, the FDA officially authorized the shot for the age group. Now, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel must discuss and make its own recommendations, which typically follow those set forth by the FDA.
Fresno County health officials said they expect a surge in interest once the shots are available, which is expected to be soon as the middle of next week. Just as the demand died down in January after the first wave of adults got shots, officials said they expect the same for young people.
The MyTurn website usually lags a few days behind the decisions of officials, said Joe Prado, interim assistant director of the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
“We’re trying to build a system as flexible as possible and we’ll be ready to administer those doses,” he said.
Officials recommend using myturn.ca.gov to sign up for an appointment or calling your primary care provider.
Holiday surge ahead?
Fresno County’s top health official said Friday he foresees a holiday season this year for local hospitals close to as difficult as it was last year despite recent news in who is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.
Interim Health Director Dr. Rais Vohra said a low vaccination rate in Fresno County and the slew of other reasons people visit an emergency room will likely be a burden.
About half of the county’s residents are vaccinated compared to the statewide average of 62.2%.
“It’s somewhat of a bleak outlook in my opinion. The hospitals may experience the same level of stress and strain that they have with this last fall surge or last winter surge,” he said. “Looking at the numbers, it’s hard to draw any other conclusion.”
More than 449,000 people in Fresno County – about 43.5% – are completely unvaccinated.
Fresno County on Friday had admitted 302 COVID-19 patients not counting nine more suspected cases, according to state data. There were 59 in intensive care unit beds, leaving 22 available.
That is the most COVID cases in a hospital system of any county other than Los Angeles, which has 630. LA is also has 10 times the population of Fresno.
Since the first local infections of COVID-19 were confirmed in March 2020, more than 136,000 cases have been identified in Fresno County, including 2,128 deaths blamed on the virus.
The six-county Valley region passed 301,000 cases this week. Those include 4,345 lives lost to COVID-19 in the pandemic.
This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 4:13 PM.
