CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Following Wednesday’s FDA approval, the city will make available updated COVID booster shots for children, ages five through eleven.
Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady made the announcement. She declared those children, who already have received the primary COVID-19 vaccine series, are now eligible to receive a new, updated shot that is tailored to the current Omicron subvariant. The boosters will arrive in the next few days.
“A lot of Chicagoans who were vaccinated in the past don’t realize that they should get the fall 2022 COVID-19 booster,” said Dr. Arwady. “But even if you’ve had COVID boosters in the past, this updated vaccine is different. It’s the very first time we’ve adapted the vaccine to better fight variants, and I’m happy to say that the new booster is a near-perfect match to the variants of COVID circulating in Chicago right now.”
The Chicago Department of Public Health said that the federal government was expected to start shipping the vaccine as soon as Thursday and the city has already submitted orders. CPDH-run clinics should start distributing the shots on Monday, but pharmacies and doctors’ offices could start giving out the shots even earlier.
CPDH reminds residents that, similar to the booster for those 12-years-olds and up, the pediatric booster is recommended for those at least two months removed from their second dose of the primary vaccine series. The Pfizer-BioNTech booster will be available for kids, 5 to 11, while the Moderna booster will be available for 6 to 17-years-olds.
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“Getting your whole family up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines now is the best possible way to protect not just your family, but all of Chicago from a potential surge in COVID infections this winter,” said Dr. Arwady. “We’ve also seen a bad flu season in parts of the southern hemisphere, which often means we’ll experience the same, so I urge Chicagoans to get a flu vaccine, too.”
Local pharmacies where the boosters will be available include:
CVS
Jewel-Osco
Walgreens
Mariano’s
Costco
For more information on the updated vaccines and boosters, residents can go to vaccines.gov or call the city’s COVID-19 call center at 312-746-4835.
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