MACON, Ga. — Children as young as 5 can soon roll up their sleeves for a coronavirus vaccine.
The CDC approved Pfizer's kid-size COVID-19 shot for children ages 5 to 11.
CDC director Doctor Rochelle Walensky made the final approval Tuesday.
She said the kid-size shot was found to be nearly 91 percent effective in preventing COVID-19 among children as young as 5 years old.
Walensky also had this message for parents.
"I want to speak directly to parents about this recommendation. We have followed the scientific process. We have done our due diligence. The safety of our children is the most, utmost importance to me, and I believe these vaccines will help us to better protect our children from COVID-19," Walensky said.
Soon, COVID-19 vaccinations will begin in private practices for children 5 to 11 right here in Central Georgia.
We spent the afternoon at Primary Pediatrics to see how they're preparing to give the shots.
Primary Pediatrics received 1,200 Pfizer shots Tuesday. Now, they're waiting to hear from the Department of Public Health to start administering them.
Amanda Bowkley got vaccinated in April, but her 8-year-old son Jacob hasn't been able to.
"I asked him would he rather go to school or home school. He said home school so he could be safe from COVID-19," Bowkley said.
So when she heard 5- to 11-year-olds could soon get the Pfizer vaccine, she said she was excited and relieved.
"It always felt like he was kind of put at more of a chance of getting COVID-19," Bowkley.
According to Michael Hokanson with the North Central Health District, the district is waiting on guidance from the state Department of Public Health. He said, "Our district is not the authority that decides when providers can begin."
Doctor Jason Lee Smith with Primary Pediatrics says the interest is there.
"This week, I've had several patients come in asking about it, 'When can they start?' Just today, probably five or six," Smith said.
So now, they're just waiting for the green light.
"The retail stores are controlled on a federal level, so they may be given the green light before we are in Georgia. We have to listen to DPH and the ACIP, which are the two groups that converse on the vaccines. When they give us the green light, we can give it," Smith said.
"I'm just thankful that it's coming about where they've done testing, where it shows it is safe for the children to start getting," Bowkley said.
Vaccination will begin once DPH receives clinical guidance from the CDC, which is expected soon. They have not provided a timeline, though.
Hospitals will not be administering vaccines to children.
However, the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine will also be available at pharmacies, community health centers, and schools.
The CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices support vaccinating children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old.
There are approximately 987,000 children 5-11 years old in Georgia now eligible for COVID vaccine. That's according to the North Central Health District.
Corey Bonalewicz said, "I would be lying if I said if I wasn't nervous. I wouldn't say I'm skeptical, but this is our kid and you want to make sure everything is OK."
Some parents are feeling uneasy about their children getting the shot.
Worried parents are concerned about side effects, like the uncommon "myocarditis," which is heart inflammation, but pediatrician Dr. Emmanuel Walter Jr., Pediatrician and Chief Medical Officer at Duke Human Vaccine Institute, says that's pretty rare.
He led a trial at Duke looking at the vaccine's effect on children.
Walter said, "Sore arm, some muscle aches, headaches, fever, chills, fatigue, and a little bit of redness and swelling around the injection site. I think that we can probably extrapolate that information down to children as well, that we don't have concerns about long-term side effects."
Another concern for parents is whether children will need booster shots.
Dr. Walter says it depends on where we head with the pandemic and studies would have to be done on boosters in children.
As of right now, Pfizer's vaccine has the widest reach.
It's approved for everyone 5 and up.
The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine only has approval for folks 18 and older.
That's the same for Moderna, but it's closer to a wide range of approval.
Moderna has submitted data to the FDA for emergency use authorization for ages 12 to 17 and plans to do the same for ages 6 to 11 soon.