The City of Detroit is ramping up efforts to get kids between the ages of 5 and 11 across the city vaccinated against COVID-19.
Beginning Friday, parents will be able to make appointments for the vaccine for their kids. The appointments will begin on Monday.
Families will also need to come back three weeks later for the second dose for their child.
Doctors we have spoken with have been overwhelmed with calls from parents eager to get their kids the shot. Now, counties and health clinics are opening to relieve pressure off their offices.
It comes just days after the CDC gave the green light to start administering the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to kids ages 5-11.
"We really need these children to be vaccinated not only to protect themselves but to protect the community around them," Dr. Tonya Touchdown, a DMC Pediatric Emergency Physician, said.
Like adults, kids will be able to get two shots, three weeks apart, meaning it can take as little as five weeks for them to be fully vaccinated.
In Oakland County, they've already started vaccinating kids. Some got their shots on Thursday at the county's health office.
A series of school-based clinics will begin Monday at Hazel Park High School. Slots there are already full. Parents are being urged to make an appointment quickly to get kids vaccinated.
"I was keeping track of the FDA and the CDC approvals. So when I heard that it was approved on Tuesday, I went right to the websites and tried to figure out where I could get the soonest appointment," Jennifer Weizer, a parent, said.
About 98,000 kids in the age group live in Oakland County.
Administering the kids Pifzer vaccine has become clockwork for Pharmacist Rudy Najm and his staff at iPharmacy in Livonia.
"So lots of parents are super excited and they tell this is the best thing happen. It's even better than Christmas," he said.
The Detroit Health Department is partnering with the Detroit Public Schools Community District, private and charter schools to provide school-based vaccine events.
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