OCEAN COUNTY – The Ocean County Health Department (OCHD) announced that they will be offering the COVID-19 vaccine for Ocean County residents ages 5 to 11 years old.
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that children as young as 5 get the shot. The CDC states that kids in this age group will be able to get Pfizer’s low-dose COVID vaccine – which was recently authorized by the Food and Drug Administration – as a 2-dose series taken three weeks apart.
“The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective. Before being authorized for children, scientists and medical experts completed their review of safety and effectiveness data from clinical trials of thousands of children. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was rigorously tested and reviewed, and more than 11 million adolescents ages 12-17 have already safely received the COVID-19 vaccine,” the OCHD states.
The OCHD said that the vaccination is the best way to protect children ages 5 and older from coronavirus.
According to the OCHD, COVID-19 has become one of the top 10 causes of pediatric death and tens of thousands of children and teens have been hospitalized with COVID-19. Although children are at lower risk than adults of becoming severely ill or hospitalized from COVID-19, it is still possible.
The OCHD will be finalizing plans to offer the vaccine and will provide more information in the coming days.
Visit ochd.org for local information. For more information regarding vaccination for children and teens, visit: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/children-teens.html?fbclid.
