SAN ANTONIO — The Texas Department of State Health Services provided a media briefing on COVID-19 vaccination plans for children ages 5 to 11 years old.
DSHS spoke about how things will work when the anticipated decision to approve the vaccine soon.
Imelda Garcia, MPH, said time will tell if priority groups will be used, but the state's partnerships with school-based clinics would be similar to how it worked when children ages 12 and up were approved to receive the vaccine.
Garcia is the Associate Commissioner for Laboratory and Infectious Disease Services and Chair of the state's Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel.
"We have so many children across the state that we need to have vaccinated," Garcia said.
"As the vaccine orders are placed, the vaccine finder website is a good place for you to go to see who has the vaccine," Garcia said, who also said her daughter is in the upcoming group expected to be approved.
"What I tell my family and friends, is it's not only for her safety, it's also for others," she said.
Garcia said Texas will continue to receive allocations on a weekly basis after starting off with an initial amount of about 1 million doses.
Saroj Rai, Ph.D., a senior scientific advisor, said it will be a two-dose vaccine and children will need to get their second dose three weeks after the first.
