When and where can children get vaccinated?

D.C.: In a statement, D.C. Health “strongly” encouraged that children younger than 5 be vaccinated at their regular medical provider. The agency said 8,800 preordered doses — half of which are Moderna and the other half Pfizer-BioNTech — have arrived at the city’s covid centers , located in all eight wards. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) tweeted Saturday that city covid centers will be open Tuesday, including centers normally closed that day. Patrick Ashley, the D.C. health department’s director of emergency response, said retail pharmacies will administer vaccines but will generally not vaccinate children younger than 3. Maryland: Pediatricians and primary care doctors should be the first call for Maryland families, state health officials said, because those providers get priority for a first round of doses. Not every doctor’s office volunteered for the first wave of doses. “We will continue to add pediatric providers as more practices participate in the vaccination efforts,” Maryland Health Department spokesperson Chase Cook said. Retail pharmacies such as CVS, Giant and Walgreens have also ordered pediatric doses directly from the federal government and will have their own scheduling platforms. Maryland officials will post information on pediatric doses and appointments at covidvax.maryland.gov . Federally qualified health centers and local health departments will also have vaccines available. The State Center vaccination site in Baltimore will dispense pediatric vaccine doses as soon as they can be operational. Hours will be from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesdays, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Thursdays and 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturdays. Maryland will update its website when pediatric vaccine is available, but state officials expect it could be ready by later this week or early next week. Virginia: The Virginia Department of Health is expecting pediatricians’ offices and family practice offices to administer the bulk of doses. Hospitals and federally qualified health centers will administer them as well. Pharmacies will vaccinate children older than 3, and appointments will be available for booking on pharmacy websites. The VDH scheduling tool for pediatric vaccines allows families to search for appointments in their respective regions. Appointments may not appear online until the vaccine arrives at a given location, so VDH encourages checking back if times aren’t immediately available. Deliveries of vaccine doses to medical offices and pharmacies began Monday, and the VDH expects vaccines to be available Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on one’s location within the commonwealth, the agency said in response to emailed questions.

Which vaccines will be offered?

D.C.: Most doses in the District will be Moderna, but about a third will be Pfizer-BioNTech. Maryland: The 65,400 doses ordered by the state for pediatricians, primary care doctors and state-run facilities are about half Pfizer-BioNTech and half Moderna. Virginia: Local health districts will be responsible for holding clinics, and each office must choose a vaccine brand. A VDH official said that in its collection of preorders from Virginia health districts, Pfizer-BioNTech requests (63,500) outnumbered Moderna ones (39,400).

Will there be enough vaccine for everyone seeking a vaccination?

D.C.: Yes, eventually. City officials expect a high demand for the 8,800 preordered doses in this early period. Ashley said restrictions such as proof of D.C. residency will ease as time goes on. Maryland: Yes, eventually. But health officials are encouraging anyone who wants a vaccination for a young child to get it as soon as possible and for anyone curious about it to discuss it with their health-care provider. For next week, there will be 65,400 doses for the estimated 358,000 children under 5 in the Maryland, health officials said. Pharmacies will have additional doses, and another 47,000 have already been ordered. Maryland health officials said they do not know when the federal government will allow the next round to be ordered. If demand for the 5-to-11 age group is any guide, the first shipment should cover most of the immediate demand. So far, only about half of that older group has received at least one dose of the vaccine in the seven months it has been available, officials said. Virginia: Yes, eventually. The VDH has accounted for 102,900 preorders across its health districts in this initial run.

Can children who aren’t residents get a dose?

D.C.: No. Because each ward will get about 200 doses each day, proof of D.C. residence will be required for the time being. Maryland: Yes. State officials said anyone — resident or not — may receive doses in Maryland. Virginia: Yes. While the preference is for families to seek appointments in their jurisdictions, the vaccines will be available to any child. Michael Brice-Saddler contributed to this report.

D.C., Md. & Va.

FAQ: How to get the pediatric coronavirus vaccine in the D.C. area

By Hau Chu

and

Erin Cox

Updated June 22, 2022 at 1:37 p.m. EDT|Published June 17, 2022 at 4:02 p.m. EDT

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending coronavirus vaccines for children under 5. (Video: Jackson Barton, John Farrell/The Washington Post)

Families are breathing a sigh of relief at the approval of coronavirus vaccines for children younger than 5, which comes more than a year after the shots were approved for adults.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday approved the Food and Drug Administration’s recommendations, guaranteeing two long-anticipated vaccines will be available for young children beginning this week.

The Moderna vaccine, for children 6 months through 5 years old, will be administered in two doses four weeks apart. The Pfizer-BioNTech version, intended for children 6 months through 4 years old, will require three shots: the first two given three weeks apart, and the third doled out at least two months after the second dose.

How will the pediatric vaccines be distributed in D.C., Maryland and Virginia? The Washington Post asked state and local health officials.

Coronavirus vaccines for kids under 5 are finally here

FAQ: How to get the pediatric coronavirus vaccine in the D.C. area

Coronavirus: What you need to read