Appointments needed for children 5-11
LEXINGTON, KY. (British public affairs) — UK HealthCare officially opened its large-scale pediatric vaccination clinic in Lexington on Tuesday. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency clearance for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 on Oct. 26, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved the distribution of vaccines to this age group. Nov good. 2. The pediatric vaccination clinic has been making appointments for COVID-19 vaccines since last Thursday and will start administering the injections today.
“In the U.S., there are 28 million children under the age of 11 and are among those severely affected by the delta variant of this virus,” said Lindsey Ragsdale, MD, interim chief medical officer of Kentucky Children’s Hospital (KCH). “Building on the success of the Kroger Field site, we have the resources to quickly establish a large-scale family-friendly operation to provide the children of Kentucky with the protection they need.”
The clinic is located on the first floor of the UK HealthCare outpatient clinic, at 245 Fountain Court. Although subject to change, opening hours are expected to be Monday through Friday from 1pm to 7pm and Saturdays from 9am to 5pm. Depending on the availability of vaccine doses and available staff, the clinic is expected to accommodate approximately 2,100 patients per week.
To help children who are afraid of needles or nervous in clinical settings, the clinic has made several improvements to make the vaccination experience less intimidating. These features, created in consultation with KCH’s Child Life staff, include:
An exciting environment with distraction for children. A sticker card for younger patients to mark their progress throughout the clinic Coping and distraction items in the injection and waiting areas. Desensitization chamber for patients with developmental or sensory needs. Educational information for parents and carers about what to expect on vaccination day.
“Vaccinations can be stressful for some kids,” said Jennifer Guilliams, KCH’s Child Life Program Coordinator. “Our goal was to create an environment that is not only calm, but also contains an element of playfulness to keep children engaged and focused.”
In addition, UK HealthCare provides education and training to pharmacists and other hospital staff who do not normally work with children on how to best deal with pediatric patients.
Kentucky Children’s Hospital has seen an increase in the number of children hospitalized for severe COVID-19 and childhood multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), a serious complication associated with COVID-19. Kentucky ranks number one in the country for childhood obesity, and obesity is one of the greatest risk factors in severe COVID-19. The two-shot COVID vaccine has been shown to be highly effective in preventing hospitalization and death.
Register for the vaccine
Parents and legal guardians are strongly encouraged to have their children aged 5-11 years vaccinated. Multiple children can be registered at the same time. Follow the steps below to register:
Sign up at ukvaccine.org. Upon completion, a confirmation screen will appear and a confirmation email will be sent to the address used during registration. IMPORTANT: If you have registered your child(ren) at ukvaccine.org before November 1, 2021, you must re-register to receive an invitation.
Please check your email regularly. When it’s time to schedule an appointment by state counseling, and appointments become available, an email is sent containing a unique access code. This passcode never expires and cannot be shared with anyone else. This email invitation to schedule may be delayed for several days, depending on available appointments.
Schedule your appointment with this access code. If the available dates don’t work with your schedule, keep coming back as more appointments are added based on the state’s vaccine stock.
Email vaccin@uky.edu with any questions. A team member will respond within 24-48 hours.
Answers to frequently asked questions about the vaccine
With the vaccine becoming available to young children, it is understandable that parents and caregivers have some questions. UK HealthCare’s FAQ page answers some of the most frequently asked questions about COVID-19 and the vaccine.
Testing and Monoclonal Antibody Therapy
COVID-19 testing is free and available everywhere in Kentucky. Find a test location near you.
While not a substitute for vaccination, monoclonal antibody therapy is an effective treatment for children 12 years and older who have tested positive for COVID-19 and have high risk factors for serious complications. Kentucky Children’s Hospital is the state’s primary location for monoclonal antibody therapy. Click here to read how to get a referral for treatment.
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