I know that many parents are relieved and they have been looking forward to this day for many months. Our primary goal with all of these actions is to make sure that parents have all of the information that they need to make the best informed decision for their family because ultimately this decision is up to and should be up to Maryland parents and families. As with each previous phase of our vaccination campaign, you can find a provider near you and make an appointment for your children by visiting COVID or by calling 1-855-MD-GOVAX. We will also begin airing a brand-new round of public service announcements on radio and television featuring trusted Maryland pediatricians encouraging vaccination. The Maryland GoVAX Call Center, which has already scheduled more than 460,000 vaccination appointments, sent over 1.5 million outbound texts and made more than 11 million proactive outreach calls to eligible Marylanders, is immediately launching a new robust effort to reach the parents of all eligible Maryland children. To our vaccine distribution operation, the state will be providing additional staffing resources to school systems and local jurisdictions as needed, and we are deploying Vaccine Equity Task Force teams to ensure equitable access for families in under-served communities and in hard to reach areas. Our pharmacy partners are receiving allocations from the federal government, and they will also begin immediately offering the vaccine for children. In addition to schools, we’ve been working together with our pediatric advisory panel on plans enabling pediatricians and family physicians all across the state to be able to provide vaccines directly in their offices.
I’m pleased to report that all 24 local school systems have agreed to do so. We have also been coordinating with local school systems and strongly encouraging them to hold clinics in their schools. Through every step of this planning and preparation process, state health officials have been working closely with pediatricians, pharmacies, local health departments, as well as with the Vaccine Equity Task Force. We will be receiving additional allocations in the coming weeks and they have committed to supplying enough capacity for all of our 5 to 11-year-olds.
However, the White House has said that it will take them a bit more time to get all of those doses distributed. Some of these doses are already in place and ready to go across the state. Based on requests from providers across the state, Maryland placed an initial order of 180,000 doses, which began arriving directly from Pfizer earlier this week. Our state health team has been working for many weeks in anticipation of federal approval to mobilize detailed operational plans for vaccinating children. Both the American Academy of pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians, two of the nation’s preeminent groups representing hundreds of thousands of family doctors and pediatricians, agreed with the CDC’s recommendation to authorize COVID-19 vaccines for children.Įarlier today, Maryland health officials authorized providers all across the state to immediately begin scheduling appointments, holding clinics, and vaccinating 5 to 11-year-olds in Maryland.
As well as thorough and rigorous clinical trials. It is based on data submitted by Pfizer, which shows that its vaccine is safe and 90.7 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19 in children. This approval followed a unanimous vote of the CDC’s Advisory Committee of Experts. Last week, the FDA’s Advisory Panel of Medical Experts voted unanimously to recommend the Pfizer vaccine for 5 to 11-year-olds, and late last night, the CDC officially granted final authorization, making 515,000 Maryland children immediately eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Michael Zollicoffer, a pediatric medicine expert who works in partnership with Sinai hospital in Baltimore.įor months we have been pressing the federal government to provide patients with clear guidance and a clear timeline for vaccinating younger children against COVID-19. Monique Soileau-Burke, the vice president of the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of pediatrics. Joining me from the Maryland Department of Health are Secretary Dennis Schrader and Deputy Secretary Dr.
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