Children’s Mercy vaccine clinics full through November as kids start getting COVID shot
Children’s Mercy’s Saturday vaccine clinics for children are filled through November.
The first vaccine clinic for kids ages 5 to 11 reached capacity Saturday as hundreds of kids received the coronavirus vaccine.
All 600 appointment slots were filled within about 90 minutes at Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas, in Overland Park, Lisa Augustine, a spokeswoman with Children’s Mercy, told The Star.
“It’s been a great response so far,” Augustine told The Star.
The next Saturday clinic date with available appointments is scheduled for Dec. 18, though Augustine said the hospital hopes to add more clinics as they receive more vaccines.
On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended a special lower dose of the COVID-19 vaccine made for children ages 5 to 11. The CDC guidance follows approval of the same special Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for younger kids from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Both Kansas and Missouri updated their state guidance to include vaccines for 5 to 11 year olds on Wednesday, which authorizes local health departments and providers to start administering the vaccines.
Starting on Monday, vaccines for 5 to 11 year olds will be available at all the regular Children’s Mercy vaccine clinics with an appointment.
Children’s Mercy is also offering appointments Monday through Friday at its main hospital and at Children’s Mercy Broadway.
More information on vaccination opportunities at Children’s Mercy can be found at https://www.childrensmercy.org/COVID-vaccine/.
The Star’s Lisa Gutierrez contributed.
This story was originally published November 7, 2021 at 2:25 PM.
