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COVID-19 vaccines for younger children arrive in local clinics

Vaccine
Posted at 1:23 PM, Jun 21, 2022
and last updated 2022-07-20 20:09:19-04

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Children from the ages of 6 months to 5 years will have access to COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday in Southern Nevada Health District clinics.

The Health District will offer the Pfizer vaccine, a three-dose series, at its clinics located at the College of Southern Nevada’s West Charleston and North Las Vegas campuses, the Galleria at Sunset, the Boulevard Mall inside El Mercado, and at the Southern Nevada Community Health Center clinic at 280 S. Decatur Blvd.

The Health District will also begin offering the Moderna vaccine, a two-dose series, tomorrow at the Health Center Clinic at 280 S. Decatur Blvd.

Vaccine availability for younger children follows recommendations by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines and authorization for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

  • The Pfizer vaccine is authorized for children 6 months to 4 years of age and is a three-dose series. The second dose is administered between three and eight weeks after the first dose. The third dose is administered at least eight weeks after the second dose. (Available at multiple Health District clinic locations.)
  • The Moderna vaccine is authorized for children ages 6 months to 5 years of age in a two-dose series, with the second dose administered four to eight weeks after the first dose. (Available at 280 S. Decatur Blvd.)

Children in this younger age group can be vaccinated with whichever vaccine is available.

Children who have already had COVID-19 should still get vaccinated, as the vaccine can provide added protection from the virus. Children who have been infected with COVID-19 can get the vaccine three months from when their symptoms started, or if they were asymptomatic, three months after they received a positive test. Children can also safely receive other vaccines the same day they receive their COVID-19 vaccine.

RELATED: Health officials prepare for FDA approval of pediatric COVID-19 vaccines