Around 28 million children are now eligible to get their COVID-19 shots in the U.S. and some cities are throwing in cash and other incentives to encourage those between five to 11 years old to line up and get the jab.
In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that children can very well take advantage of the incentive program since the holidays are just around the corner and everyone could use the money to celebrate. New York City kids who get their COVID-19 shots may claim their $100 cash benefit or tickets to city attractions and baseball games at city-sponsored vaccination sites.
Kids in Chicago may get a $100 gift card if they have their vaccine shots at Chicago Public Health clinics. On November 12, the Chicago Public Schools is conducting a Vaccination Awareness Day so parents can take a leave from work and bring their kids to the center.
In San Antonio, children could also claim $100 gift cards to use at the H-E-B stores. Minnesota's offer is higher at $200 per child and a raffle entry for the $100,000 college scholarship draw.
Over 20,000 Vaccine Locations
According to Jeff Zient, the House COVID-19 response coordinator, there will be "over 20,000 trusted and convenient locations" around the country for kids to get their COVID-19 shots. Shipments of Pfizer's 10 microgram vaccine doses have started arriving at public health sites and hospitals since late October.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have given the go signal to start the kids' vaccination program after November 4. The American Academy of Pediatrics urged pediatricians with private practice clinics to reach out to their state's immunization programs to request supplies so they could administer COVID-19 shots as well.
At the University of California-San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital, a drive-thru lane will be established to make the process faster. The hospital staff members said they thought of setting up vaccine appointments, especially if the stocks are low, but not all families have access to the internet to secure a schedule. Thus, whoever comes for the COVID-19 shots for kids will not be turned away.
Why Vaccinate Kids Against COVID-19
Dr. Angela Myers of the Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City told Today that while children are largely not at risk from COVID-19 compared the adults, no parent can know if the infection would be severe or not in case the kids do contract the virus. Vaccinating kids will keep them protected and it's also one of the significant steps to ending the pandemic as it will likewise protect the adults in their family.
The experts have always said that curbing the spread of the virus will be harder if there are still unvaccinated people. Through them, the virus will keep mutating into other variants that might eventually be resistant to the vaccines.
Per the Pfizer trial in kids, the COVID-19 shots administered 21 days apart, brought similar immune responses as well as similar common side effects as the adult vaccines. There were small and rare cases of kids who developed myocarditis or the inflammation of muscles in the heart, however, experts said that myocarditis risk in kids is 37 times higher for those who are not vaccinated.
