University Health to provide vaccines for children 6 months and older

University Health will hold a special free COVID-19 vaccine event for children under 5 (at least 6 months old but before their 5th birthday) this Saturday, June 25, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Robert B. Green campus downtown (903 W. Martin St). This event follows FDA and CDC authorization of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for this youngest group. University Health will offer only the Pfizer vaccine at this event.

Starting tomorrow morning, Wednesday, June 22, appointments can be made at WeCanDoItSA.com. An adult family member or guardian must accompany the child to provide written consent for the vaccination.

The Pfizer vaccine series for this age group is a three-dose series, with the second dose administered three weeks after the first, and the third dose eight weeks after the second. Follow-up doses will be scheduled at each of the visits. As with other COVID-19 vaccines, children will be observed for 15 minutes after receiving the vaccine.

“This is an important opportunity to provide younger children the protection that COVID-19 vaccines offer against severe illness and hospitalization,” said Dr. Mandie Tibball Svatek, University Health pediatric hospitalist and UT Health San Antonio associate professor of pediatrics.

While children in general do not get as severely ill as adults with COVID-19 infections, many have been hospitalized, including many without any underlying health conditions. Also, even children who have mild or no symptoms can continue to spread it to more vulnerable members of the community.

For more information on the vaccine we will be offering, visit Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Overview and Safety | CDC

Dr. Svatek has answered a number of common questions, both about the vaccines for this younger age group and for children and adolescents in general, in these two Q&A videos:

COVID-19 Update: Vaccines for Children Under 5 - YouTube