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Cook County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic (SMC) are pleased to open registration for youth, 5 to 11 years old, COVID-19 vaccination clinics in the month of November. With the approval of the Pfizer vaccine for this age group, the CDC has issued the new recommendation that children between 5 and 11 years old receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Registration opened on the County’s hub site: cookcountycovid19.org on November 3 at noon, for three 50-person events scheduled at the Cook County Community Center on the following dates:
Friday, November 12 from 1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday, November 20 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Wednesday, November 24 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
As these events fill, more will be scheduled, with the goal of making vaccination easily accessible to all local families.
The vaccine available for those in the 5-11 age range is the Pfizer vaccine, though it is a smaller dose than the Pfizer vaccine available for those ages 12 and over. The pediatric Pfizer vaccine also is a two-dose series, with each dose spaced 21 days apart. A parent or guardian must be present during the appointment to provide consent.
“As both a parent and a public health professional, I am thrilled that COVID- 19 vaccination will be available to more children in our community,” states Grace Grinager, Public Health Supervisor for Cook County. “Although this age group is at lower risk for severe disease due to COVID-19 we know that some children unfortunately do get very sick from this virus. Vaccinating our children is an effective and safe way to prevent them from becoming ill with COVID-19, protect others around them who may be more vulnerable, and reduce the chance of more variants developing over time. It’s also a way to support our schools—so kids can continue to enjoy in-person learning and extracurriculars with less risk of this virus spreading and causing illness and disruption to our school communities.”
PHHS and SMC are working to make the vaccination space at the Community Center as kid friendly as possible. If a parent is concerned that their child may feel too anxious to receive vaccination in this setting, please call Cook County Public Health at 218-387-3605 to discuss accommodations for your child.
Cook County Public Health and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic continue to collaborate to provide weekly COVID-19 vaccination clinics at the Cook County Community Center. Clinics are posted at cookcountycovid19.org and registration support is available over the phone at 218-387-3605. Please note that due to an exceptionally high call volume, callers may need to leave a message and can expect a response in 1-2 business days.
Grand Portage Health Services will have vaccination opportunities for the 5-11 age group at the end of November. If you are interested in youth vaccination through Grand Portage Health Services, please call 218-475-2235.
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