Erie County Health Department begins scheduling COVID-19 vaccinations for children ages 5 to 11

SANDUSKY – The Erie County Health Department is now scheduling COVID-19 vaccination appointments for children ages 5 to 11 years old.

To schedule an appointment, go online to coviderieohio.com or call 567-867-5228.

A parent or legal guardian must accompany the child to their appointment.

The FDA and CDC has recommended that children 5 to 11 years old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine.

In a press release, the Erie County Health Department stated, “Vaccination, along with other preventative measures, can protect children from COVID-19. Although children are less likely than adults to get severely ill from COVID-19, they can, and do, become ill – even seriously ill, and can suffer lasting complications from the virus. As of November 1, 2021, more than 2,000 Ohio children under 18 had been hospitalized with COVID-19, and 15 had died. Nationally, the virus has taken the lives of nearly 800 children. To date, more than 247 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered in the United States, helping to prevent severe cases of COVID-19 resulting in hospitalization and death. A smaller dose of this same vaccine, one-third of the adult size, was thoroughly studied and tested in clinical trials. The trials showed that the pediatric formulation was nearly 91% effective at preventing symptomatic infections, and no serious side effects were detected.”