COVID Shots For Children To Roll Out Next Week At 'Full Strength,' Says White House

The White House said Monday that its rollout for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for children between the ages of 5 and 11 will be "running at full strength."

On Friday, the FDA granted emergency authorization for the Pfizer vaccine for the age bracket. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still needs to advise how the shot should be administered.

Most of the 15 million shots are expected to be available before next week.

“As we await the CDC decision, we are not waiting on the operations and logistics. In fact, we’ve been preparing for weeks,” said Jeff Zients, White House coronavirus response coordinator at a press briefing.

Zients said that children would be able to get jabs at pediatrician offices, medical clinics, pharmacies and community health centers.

“We have been planning and preparing for this moment. We are ready to execute, pending CDC’s decision. And starting the week of November 8th, our vaccination program for kids ages 5 through 11 will be running at full strength,” said Zients.

The U.S. has enough Pfizer doses to vaccinate the country’s 28 million children in the age group.

The White House reports that 80% of American adults have had their first shot and 70% are fully vaccinated.