Kids ages 5 to 11 could get approved for COVID-19 vaccine within 2 weeks

Kids ages 5 to 11 could start receiving COVID-19 vaccines as soon as next month.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel is meeting Tuesday to review Pfizer’s data on vaccines for children. If approved, about 28 million kids would become eligible. The dose will be one-third of the adult dose.

"We are really getting into the logistics," said Dr. Madeleine Gagnon, the vice chief of staff at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare.

Gagnon is working with other medical experts across the state to help make sure the vaccine will be available in as many ways and places as possible. She also says there are enough doses on reserve for this younger age group.

"Supply is not an issue here, we want to make sure we get the correct information out that supply isn’t a factor and safety isn’t a factor. This is a safe vaccine and the best way to put an end to this pandemic," she said.

Kris Erikson is one Twin Cities parent who is already calling, hoping to get a vaccination appointment for her 10-year-old son Bentley, who has a complex medical condition and has been doing distance learning for three years in a row.

"We are ready to get back to school as soon as possible, as soon as he gets his vaccine," she said. "He hasn’t played with friends since February 2020. He would do anything to be on the playground again."