White House details plans for vaccinating children ages 5 to 11

The White House on Wednesday unveiled its plans to vaccine children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old, pending authorization by the Food and Drug Administration in the coming weeks.

The distribution plan will rely on pediatricians, community health centers, schools and pharmacies to put parents and children at ease, rather than the mass vaccination sites used in the initial rollout for adults.

The administration said it is launching a partnership with the Children's Hospital Association to work with over 100 children's hospital systems across the country to set up vaccination sites in November and through the end of the calendar year.

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"Parents know and trust children’s hospitals to be there for their children’s medical needs, and these vaccination efforts will be no different. Pediatricians, pediatric specialists, nurses and team members will administer the vaccine to kids in trusted, family-friendly settings that serve kids every day," according to the fact sheet.

The Biden administration said it has purchased enough vaccines to give shots to all the country’s 28 million children ages 5-11 years old.

To that end, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is providing full funding to states to support vaccination operations and outreach – including setting up sites, procuring equipment and supplies to store and administer the vaccine.

FEMA will also provide transportation to and from vaccination sites, and will help with public communication like public service announcements and translation services. LINK