ECDOH offers COVID-19 booster doses for children ages 5 to 11 years

The Erie County Department of Health will offer COVID-19 vaccine booster doses to eligible children ages 5 to 11 years old beginning Friday, May 27, at county-run clinics. The full schedule of ECDOH clinics is posted at www.erie.gov/vax, or call 716-858-2929. COVID-19 vaccine is also available at the Jesse Nash Health Center, at 608 William St., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, on days the ECDOH health clinics are open.

Children ages 5 to 11 years old are eligible to receive Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine as a booster dose at least five months after completing the two-dose Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine series. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for a booster dose in this age range in May. ECDOH COVID-19 vaccine clinics offer first and second doses, additional doses for individuals with severely immunocompromising conditions, and booster doses for all eligible.

“You can think of COVID-19 vaccines as working like a battery,” explained Commissioner of Health Dr. Gale Burstein. “The initial series give you protection against illness, but its protection can fade over time, much like a phone battery’s charge. Booster doses do exactly that – boosting your immunity, adding to your body’s ability to fight off infection.”

Detailed information about booster dose eligibility is available at the New York State Department of Health website: http://www.ny.gov/boosters. Erie County residents should speak to their health care provider with questions.

ECDOH COVID-19 vaccine clinics are not currently offering the Janssen (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine.

For more:

√ Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH): www.erie.gov/health

√ ECDOH, COVID-19 testing: http://www.erie.gov/covid/covid-19-testing

√ ECDOH, COVID-19 vaccine clinics: www.erie.gov/vax

√ ECDOH COVID-19 information line: 716-858-2929