NJ Prepares to Vaccinate Children Ages 5-11 with Pfizer/BioNTech Coronavirus Vaccine

NJ has begun preparation to vaccinate children ages 5 to 11 with the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. The White House announced it could be approved by the FDA as early as the end of October and the administration has purchased 65 million pediatric doses of the vaccine. According to NBC, US Governors were instructed to prepare to vaccinate children in early November.

Once approved, 28 million US children will qualify in the 5-11 age group.

NJ has not yet announced how it will coordinate vaccination for this age group, but Gov. Murphy had previously said the state would reopen three vaccine mega-sites in North, Central and South Jersey.

According to the CDC, over 5 million of the 73 million children in the US tested positive for Covid and thousands have been hospitalized. Of those, 650 have died.  Gov. Murphy announced at a press conference Wednesday there were 444 student outbreaks in NJ schools, and 77 teacher cases connected to schools. 

The Pfizer vaccine has been tested on 2,268 children in the 5-11 age group with 1/3 of the adult dose and saw a strong immune response one month after the second dose.  Currently, the plan is to give children 5-11 two doses of 10 micrograms 21 days apart.  

NJ leads the nation in vaccination rates, with more than 75 percent of eligible residents fully vaccinated.

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