A line of parents and small children began forming outside Windsor Library around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, about a half hour before a mobile vaccine clinic was even scheduled to open.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been waiting for so long,鈥� Victoria Duke, a Windsor resident, said of this phase of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
After federal authorization over the weekend, vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna have been cleared for children between 6 months and 5 years old. It marks the first time in the pandemic that nearly everyone of any age is eligible for the vaccines.
Duke was at Windsor Library with her 3-year-old daughter. The mobile health clinic program is a partnership between Griffin Health and the state Department of Public Health.
鈥淚t was really exciting when my husband and I first got vaccinated, but since then, we鈥檝e just been waiting on pins and needles,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd now it feels even more important because we have a 3-month-old at home who we鈥檙e trying to protect as well, so one step to a fully protected family today for us.鈥�
黑料吃瓜网 health providers, through the state, had pre-ordered about 27,000 doses of vaccines made for small children as of June 17, according to DPH. More doses were being ordered.
About half were from Pfizer, which involves a three-dose series for kids 6 months through 4 years old. The other half were from Moderna, which is a two-shot series for children 6 months through 5 years old.
DPH officials said in a statement Saturday that these vaccines will soon be available at pediatricians鈥� offices, pharmacies and public health clinics.
Vaccine uptake among the nation鈥檚 youngest children is expected to be lower than in older children and adult age groups. found that about 38% of parents will wait to get their children the vaccine, while 27% said they will 鈥渄efinitely not鈥� get their children vaccinated for COVID-19.
鈥淲e understand that there鈥檚 fatigue, vaccine fatigue,鈥� said Angela Balfour, regional coordinator at DPH鈥檚 Health Equity Program. 鈥淲hat we try to do is to be really strategic and to be really targeted in where we go, so we鈥檙e looking at day care centers, any kind of summer camps, any place where during the summer there鈥檚 going to be young children.鈥�
But parents in the 18% surveyed who said they鈥檇 vaccinate their young children right away have been eager to find immediate appointments for their little ones. Families in 黑料吃瓜网 described frustration with the limited options so far.
鈥淚t鈥檚 insane, because for every other age group, the vaccines were there and ready the day they were approved,鈥� said Stephanie DeMarco outside the Windsor Library Tuesday. 鈥淲e knew the approval was coming, and once again, it feels like we鈥檙e being left behind.鈥�
DeMarco, who is from New Britain, said she eventually found information for the mobile vaccine clinic in Windsor through social media. This was after she had already called her family鈥檚 pediatrician and local pharmacies to see when they鈥檇 have vaccines available.
She stood in line with her 3-year-old son, Octavius, for his first dose.
鈥淓verybody else has moved on, they鈥檙e going on about their lives, and we have little kids who have spent their whole lives not going places,鈥� DeMarco said. 鈥淪o, it鈥檚 really exciting to be here today. I鈥檓 probably going to cry when he gets it, honestly. It鈥檚 a big deal.鈥�
The Windsor clinic was just one of seven pediatric mobile clinics held throughout the state Tuesday.
Myra Odenwaelder, assistant vice president of therapeutic services at Griffin, said it has been a priority to make the vaccines accessible to families as soon as possible.
鈥淭his age group has been without vaccine for quite some time,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e rolled out vaccine back in December of 2020, and a lot of time has passed. They are a vulnerable group and certainly deserving of vaccines.鈥�
The mobile program has about 60 vaccination clinics scheduled in towns and cities throughout the state for the next two weeks, with more to come, Odenwaelder said.
For Itzel Kibler and her family, who live in Avon, the vaccine rollout for young children couldn鈥檛 come soon enough. She said they鈥檝e been isolating for the better part of two and a half years to limit potential exposure to the virus.
鈥淭his will be a chance to actually do more things,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l probably still mask, but we鈥檒l be able to do more things and have them have baseline immunity.鈥�
In Windsor on Tuesday, Kibler鈥檚 9-month-old son and 3-year-old daughter each got their first dose of a Moderna vaccine.
鈥淭his means so much to me to finally be here,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he anxiety, I can feel it just lifting.鈥�
Child Vaccination Resources
For information about the COVID-19 vaccine for young children, please see guidance from or . For information about upcoming mobile clinics in 黑料吃瓜网, . For vaccines at other locations, visit .
