Children ages 5 to 11 are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday that it recommends all children in this age group get a low-dose of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine.
It may still take a few days to get the shot as the doses roll out across the U.S., but here’s where you can find appointments in Austin.
Austin Public Health
The local health department will be offering the vaccines for kids this week at its two Shots for Tots clinics, which provide vaccines to children who are uninsured or Medicaid recipients. Appointments are required and can be made by calling 512-972-5520.
Starting next week, APH will offer the vaccines at two walk-in clinics — at Delco Activity Center and the old Sims Elementary (not the new Norman Sims). No appointment will be needed.
The week of Nov. 15, APH says it will be expanding and setting up clinics at schools, focusing on areas where access is limited.
Austin Regional Clinic
ARC is opening scheduling this afternoon so parents can set up appointments for their children next week. Availability is limited.
“ARC has pre-ordered sufficient vaccine for all pediatric patients at all primary care locations and encourages parents to be patient as shipments arrive for each clinic,” the clinic said in a press release. “ARC expects the majority of its pediatric vaccine shipments to be in the primary care clinics by next week.”
Parents or guardians can schedule through ARC MyChart. (If you don’t have access to your child’s MyChart, go here.) Those without MyChart can call ARC’s COVID-19 hotline: 866-453-4525.
Walgreens
The pharmacy says it will begin vaccinating children at thousands of pharmacies in the U.S. starting Saturday. Parents or guardians can start scheduling appointments today. Appointments can be made online at Walgreens.com/ScheduleVaccine, through the Walgreens app or by calling 1-800-Walgreens.
CVS
CVS says it will start offering vaccines for children in select stores Sunday. You can schedule an appointment now here.
UT Austin
The UT School of Nursing’s Family Wellness Center will be the only UT entity providing pediatric doses (UT Health Austin and University Health Services is focusing on vaccinating people 12 and older). UT says appointment scheduling will open in the coming days once the center receives doses. More information here.
Baylor Scott & White
BS&W says it will begin vaccinating kids 5 to 11 once it receives enough supply. It says to check for updates here.
Austin Independent School District
AISD says it will be ready in the coming days to offer the vaccine to kids ages 5 to 11 at its pop-up clinics. The district's vaccine providers haven't received the doses for this age group yet, but when they do, AISD will notify families.
Other places to look
The national vaccine locator, Vaccines.gov, is updating its inventory information as pediatric doses are being shipped out across the country. The website will be updated with information on where to find children’s vaccines by the end of the week, the site says.
The Texas Department of State Health Services announced Wednesday that it’s receiving about 1 million doses for kids to be distributed throughout the state over the next week. Here’s a list of where the doses are going.
