The Hawaii Department of Health announced COVID-19 vaccines will soon be available to children under the age of five.
The DOH is expecting 27,500 doses in the coming weeks, according to a release from Gov. David Y. Ige's (D-Hawaii) office. Once they arrive, the vaccines will be distributed to hospitals, pediatrician offices and other medical facilities where they’ll be administered by enrolled COVID-19 vaccination providers.
“Vaccines continue to offer our best protection against COVID-19 and now Keiki as young as six months old can benefit from that same protection,” Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char said in the release.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency use authorization for Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for children earlier in the week. The new Pfizer vaccine, made specifically for children age six months to four, will be administered in three doses, which are one-tenth of the amount given to adults. There should be three weeks between the first and second shots with the third shot given at least two months after the second shot, according to the release.
The new Moderna vaccine is a two-shot dosage for children six months to age five. The second shot is to be given at least four weeks after the first shot. Each dose is a quarter of the Moderna dose given to adults, the release said.
Parents with questions about the vaccines should ask their healthcare providers, Char said. Vaccination locations will be listed on the vaccine page once vaccines arrive.