To date, about 80% of adults have received at least their first shot, and 70% are completely vaccinated. Nearly 2 million people have received their booster shots since becoming eligible.
“We know vaccines are the very best tool we have to accelerate our way out of the pandemic,” Zients said.
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What you should know about vaccines in children
Getting your child vaccinated can help protect them from COVID-19 and stop the spread to others. Here are a few tips from the CDC:
Finding vaccines:
- Check your local pharmacy’s website to see if vaccination walk-ins or appointments are available.
- Check with your child’s healthcare provider about whether they offer COVID-19 vaccination.
- Contact your state or local health department for more information.
How they work:
- COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.
- COVID-19 vaccines have been used under the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history, which includes studies in adolescents.
- Your child will need a second shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine 3 weeks after their first shot.
- Children and adolescents receive the same dosage of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as adults. There are no patient weight requirements for COVID-19 vaccination, and COVID-19 vaccine dosage does not vary by patient weight.
- Your child can’t get COVID-19 from any COVID-19 vaccine, including the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
- Your child may get a COVID-19 vaccine and other vaccines at the same visit or without waiting 14 days between vaccines.
Prepping for your child’s vaccination:
- Get tips for how to support your child before, during, and after the visit.
- Talk to your child before the visit about what to expect.
- Tell the doctor or nurse about any allergies your child may have.
- Comfort your child during the appointment.
- To prevent fainting and injuries related to fainting, your child should be seated or lying down during vaccination and for 15 minutes after the vaccine is given.
- After your child’s COVID-19 vaccination, you will be asked to stay for 15–30 minutes so your child can be observed in case they have a severe allergic reaction and need immediate treatment.