Almost All Americans Are Now Eligible to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine

On Saturday, June 18, the CDC released a statement announcing that Americans aged 6 months and older are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. 

“Parents and caregivers can now get their children 6 months through 5 years of age vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine to better protect them from COVID-19,” writes the CDC. “This expands eligibility for vaccination to nearly 20 million additional children.” 

We are thrilled that the @CDCgov finally recommends #Covid vaccines for children under 5. Thanks again to ALL the families who participated in the trials. We are looking forward to seeing these vaccines available to all children ASAP. #ImmunizeUnder5s

— Protect Their Future (@PTF_org) June 18, 2022

Covid vaccines for 5 and under are finally here!! Just scheduled both of my kiddos for next week. Honestly feel like I could cry as I thought this day would never come. Hooray for science!! 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/otiv0L9Kvt

— Jennifer Rogers, LibreTexts Outreach Coordinator (@jrogers9986) June 21, 2022

The COVID-19 vaccine was first approved for emergency distribution and administered in December 2020 to healthcare workers. Throughout the spring and summer of 2021, the vaccine became more available to the general public.

Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID Coordinator, spoke briefly at the White House press meeting on Thursday, June 2, announcing that they were going to make 10 million doses available to states, pharmacies, health centers, and hospitals. 

“We expect that the vast majority of these kids will be vaccinated by their primary care providers,” states Dr. Jha.  

Due to the PREP Act signed in 2005 and amended in 2020, most states don’t allow pharmacists to vaccinate children under three years old. A Walgreens spokesperson told NBC that “its pharmacies plan to administer vaccines to those 3 and up,” while a CVS spokesperson also told NBC that they will “administer vaccines to children age 18 months through 4 years of old at its 1,100 MinuteClinic locations rather than traditional pharmacies.”

“Vaccinations will begin in earnest as early as Tuesday, June 21st, and really roll on throughout the week,” announced Jha. “There are a lot of parents who are eager to get their kids vaccinated right away.”

At long last, my under-5 kiddo is signed up for his first covid vaccine shot tomorrow! I honestly thought this day would never arrive.

— Joe Partridge (@_I_Ride_Bikes_) June 22, 2022

We are super excited about the under 5 vaccine. Toddler has been good at keeping the mask on but COVID is a nightmare. We would rather take every available precaution. I hope that the vaccine will be made globally available so that toddlers everywhere can get the jab jab https://t.co/7bT1OF2sQ1

— Chipo Dendere (@drDendere) June 22, 2022

For more information on where to get a COVID-19 vaccine for your young children, contact your children’s healthcare providers as soon as possible. Information on COVID-19 vaccines and boosters can be found here.