New York Governor Hochul Tells Parents to Schedule Kids’ COVID Shots Now

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is telling parents and school districts to get ready now to get younger children vaccinated against COVID-19 to avoid a rush and backlog in upcoming weeks.

The Democrat says she fully expects the Centers for Disease Control and Food and Drug Administration to approve COVID-19 vaccines for children aged five to 11 in early to mid November and wants parents to start making appointments with pediatricians now and the doctors and schools to prepare to start administering shots as soon as they are approved.

During her daily COVID update October 19,  Hochul said she was expecting to be on a call October 20 with the New York State Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics where she planned to tell them directly how important it is that they have the supplies needed to hit the ground running.  Hochul pledges to work with the doctors to make sure they have the necessary staff and other support.

The Governor adds, however, she believes schools “are the answer.”  She says the state is aggressively connecting schools with providers and community organizations to prepare for the vaccination of the younger children who are currently making up a large portion of new infections.

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Hochul says the state can come up with the forms parents may need and will make it as easy as possible for schools to provide vaccines in-house as a central location for most communities.