Covid vaccines available for kids age 6 months & up

Covid vaccines for anyone age six months and up are now available.

The Wahkiakum County Health and Human Services Department (WHHS) reported Thursday that the FDA’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) approved two vaccines for young children.

The health department Wahkiakum Health and Human Services (WHHS) will provide the Pfizer vaccines for everyone at their Monday and Wednesday clinics.

Department Director Chris Bischoff said there is also a version of the vaccine made by Moderna, but the department will not offer it because of storage and minimum order size issues.

The Pfizer vaccine for six months through four years is a three-shot series spaced out with 21 days between doses. For parents who would like their six-month through four-year-old children fully vaccinated before school resumes, they will need to have the first shot by July 18. For 5-12-year-olds, it is a

two-shot series 21 days apart, Bischoff said. For 5-12-year-olds to be fully vaccinated before school they will need to have their first dose by August 8.

There are other considerations around vaccinating children depending on health status, Bischoff added. Parents should talk to their primary care physician; they can also contact the Health Department for any questions.

WHHS hosts covid-19 vaccine clinics twice a week. The clinics are open Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30-3 p.m. The clinic is in the Health Department office located in the lowest floor of the county courthouse annex; no appointment is necessary.

The Health Department can be reached at 360-849-4041, M-Th 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For more information about the covid vaccine please visit the Centers for Disease Control, Washington Department of Health, and/or the Public Health Collaborative.