Health department now offering Pfizer booster shots for kids ages 5-11

JACKSON, Tenn. — The Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department is now offering Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster doses to children ages 5 to 11.

Children are eligible to receive the CDC and FDA-approved booster shot five months after completing their primary series.

“We haven’t seen as many people as we would like in this five to 11 age range come in and get vaccinated,” said Mallory Cooke, Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department Public Information Officer. “We hope parents will talk to their pediatrician, talk to your primary care provider. If you’re hesitant, you can call us, talk to your child’s doctor, get their recommendation.”

The Moderna vaccine is not yet available for kids in this age range. As of right now, the health department is offering the Pfizer vaccine to people under 18 years old.

“If you’ve got a kid in this age range, you need to come on Friday, we vaccinate between 8:30 a.m. and four o’clock. You do not need an appointment. Just bring in that little card that you got whenever your child got their first their primary series of vaccine, bring that,” Cooke said. “We’ll give them another stamp that shows they’ve gotten their booster.”

Cooke says while cases are on the rise in other parts of the country, our local numbers have remained stable.

She says during the omicron surge, more kids were hospitalized, so she hopes to prevent that from happening by getting them vaccinated and boosted.

“Kids are really resilient,” said Cooke. “Everybody’s a little bit different. So how the vaccine affects you may differ, you know, from your neighbor. But we thankfully haven’t had any serious reactions in children here at our office.”

As a reminder, children may receive a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines at the same time. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

“These vaccines are safe, they’re effective, and they’re here to protect you,” Cooke said.

The health department will be closed on Monday for Memorial Day. If you have any questions, you can call their COVID-19 hotline at (731) 240-1771.

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