Children’s COVID vaccines to be available soon in Tri-Cities. How to find a dose

Newly approved COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 has been shipped to clinics and pharmacies in the Tri-Cities area.

But there could be a brief delay before they are ready to start immunizing children, said Dr. Amy Person, health officer for Benton and Franklin counties, at a Thursday news briefing.

“People should expected that it may take some time over the next few days for everyone to be ready, but rest assured the vaccine should be available in our area for children age 5 to 11 in the next week,” she said.

Public health officials are urging parents to consider getting their children vaccinated, saying the vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective.

Although children are less likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19 than adults, COVID was still the sixth leading cause of death in the last two months for children ages 5 to 11 in Washington state, Dr. Person said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 650 children under 18 have died of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Dr. Person recommended that parents who want their children vaccinated start by checking with their family doctor or other health care provider.

Parents also can check with pharmacies to see if they have the vaccine for children.

Families will be able to find more information soon on the state of Washington’s COVID vaccine locator by entering their zip code at vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov or at the Benton Franklin Health District website by going to the COVID-19 section and then clicking on “Vaccine Information.

Both Walgreens and CVS pharmacies, which are in Target stores in the Tri-Cities, have advertised nationally that they will have COVID-19 vaccine for children.

In addition, Dr. Person expects some pop-up clinics to offer the childhood vaccine.

Some Tri-Cities area schools may work with pharmacies and clinics to make sure vaccine is available for the children of families who want it, with any plans yet to be announced.

Already the Walla Walla County Department of Community Health has announced it is working with public schools in that county to offer voluntary vaccine clinics in schools.

More child vaccine doses coming

On Wednesday, the state of Washington took the final step to authorize COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 in Washington state to receive the vaccine, following authorization by the Centers for Disease Control and Food and Drug Administration.

Washington state now has an initial limited supply of about 315,000 doses for children, but should be getting more doses, which will make the vaccine easier to find in child-sized doses, according to the Washington state Department of Health.

The doses are one-third the dose given to teens and adults.

“Dosing is based on age and not weight,” Dr. Person said. “It is based on research and studies which have supported the fact that younger kids usually mount a better immune response so require a smaller dosing.”

The smaller dose is effective and reduces the risk of side effects.

The most common side effects during studies in children where mild and common for vaccines, including fever and soreness at the injection site, she said.

Only the Pfizer vaccine is available to children, which requires two doses about three weeks apart.

In Benton and Franklin counties, 28% of new COVID-19 cases were in school age children between Oct 10-24, according to data from the Washington state Department of Health, Dr. Person said.

In Washington state the highest case rates among school children are in middle-school students, but in Benton and Franklin counties the highest rates are in 14 to 19 year olds.

Public health officials say infections are being spread, not in the classrooms, but in extracurricular and nonschool activities and gatherings.

The Benton Franklin Health District is working with doctors and other family medical providers to make the vaccine available to children after local and national studies have shown that families are most comfortable getting their children vaccinated at places where they already receive routine medical care and can ask questions, Dr. Person said.

Historically, the Tri-Cities area has had high rates of childhood vaccinations in school-age children, she said.

But early in the pandemic many children fell behind on routine vaccinations.

Families’ health care providers can give not only the COVID-19 vaccine, but the influenza vaccine and catch up any missed childhood vaccines.

All immunizations can be given at the same time as the COVID vaccine, Dr. Person said.

Vaccine for Tri-Cities seniors

While attention has focused to vaccinations for children after Wednesday’s announcement, public health officials remain concerned that many of the Tri-Cities area’s most people must vulnerable to serious illness from the coronavirus remain unvaccinated.

Less than 80% of people ages 65 and older in Benton and Franklin counties are fully vaccinated, Dr. Person said.

She asked people who know an unvaccinated senior to offer any help they need, such as making an appointment or offering them a ride.

Tri-Cities COVID cases

“We continue to see declines in our case rates, which is very encouraging,” Dr. Person said.

While the decline of COVID-19 cases across Washington state has hit a plateau, the decline continues in Benton and Franklin counties, she said.

From the weekend through Thursday, Benton and Franklin counties had an average of 50 new COVID-19 cases per day, down from 57 per day the previous week and 73 per day the week before.

The new case rate for Benton County has dropped to 308 new cases per 100,000 over two weeks, Dr. Person said. That is down from 780 a month ago.

In Franklin County, the new case rate has dropped from 977 new cases per 100,000 people over two weeks as of a month ago to 317 now.

Hospital admissions of COVID-19 patients in Benton and Franklin counties has dropped 7% in a week, Dr. Person said.

As of Wednesday there were 43 patients being treated for COVID-19 at the Richland, Kennewick, Pasco and Prosser hospitals, accounting for about 11% of all patients.

That patient count is down from 55 a month ago. Admissions and patient count declines differ due to the long hospital stays of some COVID-19 patients.

This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 12:51 PM.