COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic This Saturday in Buffalo for Children

The Erie County Department of Health and John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital are hosting a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for children in Buffalo. It will take place on Saturday, November 6, 2021, according to an email I received from the ECDOH. They will be providing the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11-years-old.

Commissioner of the Erie County Department of Health, Dr. Gale Burstein, said,

“We are coordinating this clinic with Oishei Children’s Hospital as another important step in the COVID-19 response. As a pediatrician, I know that parents and families have been waiting for this safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine to be available for this younger age group, and we appreciate that Oishei offered to collaborate on one of the first COVID-19 vaccine clinics for 5-11-year-olds in our area. We can help keep children in school and fully participating in their extracurricular activities and sports.”

The vaccines will be administered by the OCH pediatric physicians and medical staff. Volunteers and therapy dogs will be on-site to help parents and children.

On November 2, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control issued a recommendation that kids ages 5 to 11 years old should be vaccinated against COVID-19,

CDC recommends everyone ages 5 and older get a COVID-19 vaccine to help protect against COVID-19.

It states that children in that age range and the previously recommended age group of 12 to 17 can receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. Neither the Moderna nor J&J/Janssen vaccines are recommended by the CDC for anyone under the age of 18.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the parents across the state should get ready to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19,

"Tonight's announcement is an important step in fighting this pandemic. New York State's Clinical Advisory Task Force unanimously agreed with the CDC. Next the New York State Department of Health will issue guidance to the public. I encourage parents to reach out to their pediatricians and prepare to get their children vaccinated. New York State has been making preparations for this moment, and we will waste no time to help get shots administered through all available channels so that we can protect our kids from COVID-19 and finally put an end to the pandemic."

Based on previous actions taken by New York State, I would guess that the vaccinations for children ages 5 to 11 will become mandatory.