SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Appointments are now available for kids as young as 5 years old to get Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the final OK on Tuesday. This paves the way for about 28 million school children to get vaccinated.
More than 91,000 Orange County students between the ages of 5 and 11 are now eligible to get the vaccine. The district has already held several walk-up vaccination events at high schools across the county. The district said it’s for everyone, OCPS families and the public, ages 5 and older. School officials said they are encouraging families and the public to get the shot.
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Seminole County Emergency Manager Alan Harris said they’re also planning vaccination events at local middle schools.
“We’re really hoping it will be the week of the 15th that we launch appointments,” Harris said.
Harris said they originally planned for the vaccination events to happen next week, but he said there has been a delay. Harris said Pfizer and the CDC won’t let the county order about 10,000 pediatric doses until Nov. 9.
“The second it arrives here in the county, then we will open up the appointments,” Harris said.
County health departments may also have to wait longer to get pediatric doses. The Florida Department of Health in Brevard County told News 6 county departments can’t order the shots until Nov. 11.
If you don’t want to wait, News 6 found appointments for younger children at local CVS and Walgreens pharmacies starting this weekend.
“There’s tens of thousands of youth that will most likely want it, but a lot will go to private pharmacies, probably a majority will go to private pharmacies, but we will be the safety net,” Harris said.
Harris adds he has heard from some local pediatricians who are telling their patients to go to the county clinics or pharmacies to get the vaccine because they don’t have the ultracold freezers to store the shots. Harris said getting younger children vaccinated will play a key role in reaching herd immunity and reducing the chance of new variants.
“We don’t want that again. We don’t want another variant. We don’t want COVID to run rampant. We don’t want our hospitals to go into black status, which I’ve never seen in my entire career,” Harris said. “So hopefully this will be a step forward to some type of herd immunity here in the county.”
In Osceola County, the vaccinations are available by appointment through the Florida Dept. of Health in the county. An event for students is also scheduled for Nov. 20 in Kissimmee.
“A lot of our residents were anxiously awaiting the arrival of vaccinations for this age group, so we are happy to provide that and let the community know we do have vaccinations available here by appointment,” said health department spokesperson Jeremy Lanier.
“The holidays are indeed coming, and people are going to be celebrating in close proximity. We saw that with Halloween, so we are definitely encouraging residents to consider getting vaccinated,” Lanier said.
Here’s where they are offering pediatric COVID-19 doses across Central Florida:
Brevard County
The Florida Department of Health in Brevard County is offering pediatric COVID-19 vaccine doses for children ages 5 and up, when accompanied by a parent or guardian. Participants can go to select clinics and pharmacy locations throughout the county. You can find participating locations at vaccines.gov.
They will also be offered at:
Viera Clinic
2555 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, FL 32940
Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Melbourne Clinic
601 East University Blvd, Melbourne, FL 32901
Fridays only from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Titusville Clinic
611 N Singleton Ave, Titusville, FL 32796
Fridays only from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Flagler County
The health department will offer Pfizer vaccinations for children ages 5 to 11, by appointment, beginning Nov. 15. Those interested can schedule appointments by calling 386-437-7350 ext. 0. The call center is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For more information about where to receive the COVID-19 vaccine locally, visit flagler.floridahealth.gov.
Florida Department of Health in Flagler - Airport location
208 Dr. Carter Blvd #301
Bunnell, FL 32110
Nov. 15 from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Lake County
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines will be offered for children ages 5 and up in Lake County starting Nov. 15. To find a vaccine site near you, text your zip code to 438829, call 1-800-232-0233, visit vaccines.gov or navigate to Florida Health’s COVID-19 vaccine tracker.
The following sites will offer pediatric COVID-19 vaccines:
DOH-Lake Community Health Site
560 W. DeSoto St., Clermont, FL 34711
Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
DOH-Lake Leesburg Site
2113 Griffin Road, Leesburg, FL 34748
Wednesday and Friday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
DOH-Lake Umatilla Site
249 E. Collins St., Umatilla, FL 32784
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8: a.m. to 12 p.m.
Marion County
Vaccinations for those under 12 years old begin Nov. 15 in Marion County.
The Florida Department of Health in Marion County will offer vaccinations by appointment from Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
To make a vaccination appointment at their main office in Ocala, located at 1801 SE 32nd Ave, click here.
Osceola County
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be available to children ages 5 and up starting Nov. 15.
A COVID-19 vaccination event is being held for students on Saturday, Nov. 20 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1875 Fortune Road, Kissimmee. No appointments are required and the event is free for all Osceola County public, private, charter and virtual school students, officials said.
Volusia County
Starting Nov. 15, Volusia County will be offering pediatric vaccines to children ages 5 and up at its four office locations. You can make an appointment by calling the health department at 386-274-0500 and pressing the pound sign for the COVID-19 call center.
The following locations will offer COVID-19 vaccines for children on Nov. 13:
Lakeside Community Center, Parkinson’s Walk
1999 City Center Circle, Port Orange, FL 32129
9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
New Hope Church of Deltona, New Hope Fest
2855 Lake Helen Osteen Road, Deltona, FL 32738
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Daytona Beach Midtown Cultural and Educational Center, Midtown Center
925 George W Engram Blvd., Daytona Beach, FL 32114
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.