COVID vaccines now available for kids under 5

photo credit: Courtesy Flickr/Asian Development Bank

The long wait for COVID vaccinations for children under five is finally over. At the County's vaccinations clinic in Santa Rosa there was a sense of relief for long anticipated day.

Unable to secure an appointment in Contra Costa County, Jennifer Medici, said after two years of taking extra precaution with COVID safety, having her children vaccinated is a relief.

"We've been waiting a long time for this." Medici said. "I know everyone's been waiting a long time and it's just a good day, extra protection for our little ones. Since we couldn't go to our own pediatrician, we found a clinic here and we just got lucky that they got the vaccines today."

With doses now approved for children under age five, officials estimate about 21,000 children are newly eligible for the vaccine in Sonoma County.

Parents with health care coverage can go through their primary care provider to find a vaccination appointment, or go through the county’s vaccination clinic at the Roseland Community Center on Sebastopol Road in Santa Rosa.

Tim Tuscany is a nurse at the County clinic. He said Medici wasn't alone in her impatience.

"I heard around 40% of the parents are ready, eager to get vaccines." Tuscany said. "So it doesn't surprise me, but I was just surprised to see people here so early, they were coming in as we opened up."

Tuscany said Sonoma County was among the first to receive vaccine doses for children.

"We were in the first wave of shipments and we're ready, willing, and able to vaccinate anybody that makes it to the door." Tuscany said.

The County’s clinic offers both the Pfizer vaccine, on a three-shot series, each one-tenth the dose given to adults, and Moderna’s vaccine on a two-shot series, each a quarter of the adult dose.

The shots are being provided free of charge. More information can be found at socoemergency.org or through the myturn.ca.gov website.