The Brownsville Independent School District pre-ordered 4,200 low-dose Pfizer COVID 19 pediatric vaccines and will begin giving the shots to children 5-11 from 4-8 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Brownsville Event Center on Paredes Line Road.
A second vaccination clinic is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Nov. 13 at Veterans Memorial Early College High School, 4550 U.S. Military Hwy. 281. Both clinics are drive-thru events.
The vaccine requires a three-week waiting period for the second dose. Second-dose clinics are scheduled the first week of Deceember, the district said.
Late Tuesday, an expert panel advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended on a 14-0 vote that the shots should be given to children in the 5-11 age group. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky endorsed the recommendation and issued the following statment:
“Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus that causes COVID-19. We know millions of parents are eager to get their children vaccinated and with this decision, we now have recommended that about 28 million children receive a COVID-19 vaccine. As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated.”
BISD had pre-ordered the low-dose vaccines and has them in inventory, Health Services Director Alfonso Guererro told the BISD Board of Trustees at its meeting Tuesday night, saying the district is ready to go with the shots pending Walensky’s signature. The district finalized plans on Wednesday.
Guererro said the dosage is smaller — 10 micrograms compared to 30 micrograms for adults and children 12-18. BISD has 2,100 first-dose and 2,100 second-dose vaccines. Early in the pandemic BISD became a certified vaccine provider and has been providing vaccinations and booster shots to its employees, students and the public as soon as they become available.
Guerrero also said once the district gets large-scale distribution of the pediatric vaccine out of the way it plans to have smaller vaccination clinics at elementary schools around the district.
Other pharmacies including Walmart, H-E-B, Walgreens and others also are expected to offer the pediatric vaccines, which require a smaller needle for the children.
Meanwhile, BISD is offering Pfizer and Moderna booster shots from 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. on Fridays at the Health Services Department, Room 112 in the Central Administration Building, 708 Palm Blvd., by appointment only at 548-8191.
Also, AFT BEST, a teachers’ group, annouunced at Tuesday’s meeting that on Nov. 19 it will offer first-dose vaccines for children 5-11, as well as Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccinations, booster shots and flu shots for BEST AFT members and the public at 952 E. Levee St. The union said since September it has provided more than 1,000 vaccinations at the site.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said in a news release that it has instructed the CDC to ship Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine to more than 900 providers in 155 Texas counties over the next week. The CDC will deliver 1,010,700 doses of the vaccine to Texas vaccine providers and 349,200 doses will be delivered to pharmacies in the federal pharmacy program to vaccinate children between 5 and 11. More than 400,000 doses of vaccine have already arrived, with 162,000 more expected to arrive Wedneesday, and delivery of the full amount will continue through the next week, the department said.
