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More vaccine doses will be sent to New Jersey pediatricians and family practices as the state ramps up its vaccination campaign among adolescents and prepares for inoculating young children, possibly in the fall, state officials said Wednesday.
The move comes a day after Pfizer said it expects to request federal authorization in September or October to provide the vaccine to children ages 5 to 11, and a little later in the fall for younger children.
Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have also begun testing their vaccines on youngsters.
Vaccines have been allocated only to 180 primary care practices so far in New Jersey while more than 1,000 practices have requested them, Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said at a briefing.
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In New York, all of the state-run sites and dozens of the city-run sites are also open to walk-ins. For either booked appointments or walk-ins, minors will need to be accompanied by their parent or guardian.
If the parent or guardian can’t be at the vaccination clinic in person, they can supply consent via phone or a written statement. The statement must include the minor s name and date of birth and the parent or guardian s name, phone number and signature, according to the city’s vaccination website, and parents should confirm that their vaccination site will accept the written statement by calling 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692).
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But details on how New Jersey officials plan to get the vaccine to that age group has not yet been released despite Gov. Phil Murphy saying Monday that schools and pediatricians may soon be administering them.
The New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians said it knew of only one practice statewide that will be receiving more Pfizer doses for their pediatric population. And a spokesman for the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics said it hasn t gotten any guidance from the state. We haven t been informed of anything yet, said Kyle Shupp, the academy spokesman. It’s too early in the process.
arrow Keidy Ventura, 17, waits with her siblings and grandmother after receiving her first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in West New York, New Jersey Seth Wenig/AP/Shutterstock
New county-by-county numbers in New Jersey show white residents are receiving COVID-19 vaccines at nearly twice the rate of Black and Latino people. The disparities are the widest in the southern end of the state but remain sizeable in denser, urban counties in the north.
A WNYC/Gothamist analysis of state health data shows the biggest difference in Burlington County, where white people received doses at nearly three times the rate of Black residents. Burlington also ranks highest in the vaccine racial gap between white community members versus all other peoples of color. The chasm between whites and Latinos is largest in Cape May County, where white residents accounted for 2.5 times the doses as Latinos. Statewide, white residents received doses at 2.17 times the rate of Black people a