VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Central Florida health departments are already getting plans together for when the state lowers the age for COVID-19 vaccinations. A timeline has not been released yet, but health officials want families to be prepared.
Right now, the Volusia County Health Department is working on how it will get students vaccinated. In the meantime, it’s asking parents that if they do want their child to get a COVID-19 vaccination to start thinking ahead.
“We’re always working on school-age immunizations around this time, but I think it’s even more important because we do know that age is going to drop soon for the [COVID-19] vaccinations,” Florida Department of Health spokesman Ethan Johnson said.
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Johnson said right now, there’s a time period you have to wait between getting another vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine. The length of time depends on that other shot.
“It’s likely that if someone just received T-DAP, HPV, or something like that, they’re not going to then be able to get a [COVID-19] shot the next day,” he said.
Health officials said parents should get the other shots done as soon as possible anticipating the COVID-19 vaccine will be available to them within the next couple of months.
“What we would prefer is for students entering seventh grade to get their vaccines now so if by chance it becomes available at the end of the summer a [COVID-19] vaccine is an option to them,” said Johnson.
The health department in Volusia County is even offering clinics to encourage it. Parents can call 386-281-6372 to set it up.
“June 7 and June 8 we’re going to be doing no-cost school-aged vaccines at several Volusia County schools,” Johnson said.
If you want to check out the CDC’s schedule for other vaccinations for your child to see if they’re up soon, you can find the link here.