--- title: Schools, Pediatricians Key to Biden's 5-11 COVID-19 Vaccines description: Pediatricians and schools will be central to the White House's plan to vaccinate U.S. kids between 5-11 years old. canonical: https://time.com/6108567/covid-vaccine-kids/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-10-20T13:51:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T10:26:21.511Z article:section: Health og:title: Schools and Pediatricians Will Be Key to Biden's Childhood Vaccine Rollout og:description: Shots for kids 5-11 will be approved as soon as early November og:url: https://time.com/6108567/covid-vaccine-kids/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde90673d3197f227/698a1de9b3fce38cec0c86ec/kids-covid-vaccine.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Kids COVID-19 Vaccine og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Schools and Pediatricians Will Be Key to Biden's Childhood Vaccine Rollout twitter:description: Shots for kids 5-11 will be approved as soon as early November twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde90673d3197f227/698a1de9b3fce38cec0c86ec/kids-covid-vaccine.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Schools and Pediatricians Will Be Key to Biden's Childhood Vaccine Rollout > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg Contributor Oct 20, 2021 1:51 PM UTC  Jamie Blank (L) holds her son, Ari Blank's hand as he receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from healthcare worker Jen Feinberg (R) at the Jewish Federation/JARC's offices in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan on May 13, 2021. Jamie Blank (L) holds her son, Ari Blank's hand as he receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from healthcare worker Jen Feinberg (R) at the Jewish Federation/JARC's offices in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan on May 13, 2021. Jeff Kowalsky—AFP/ Getty Images by [Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg Contributor Oct 20, 2021 1:51 PM UTC The White House outlined its COVID-19 plan to vaccinate younger children which would focus on smaller doses administered with smaller needles if the shots are authorized by regulators. “We will be ready to get shots in arms,” President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 response coordinator, Jeff Zients, said Wednesday during a White House briefing on the plan, which includes supporting vaccination by primary care doctors and in pharmacies and schools. The U.S. has ordered enough supply to vaccinate all kids 5 to 11, the White House said in a [statement](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/20/fact-sheet-biden-administration-announces-update-on-operational-planning-for-covid-19-vaccinations-for-kids-ages-5-11/) Wednesday. The vaccination campaign for kids would differ from the one targeting adults and children 12 and older in that it will enlist pediatricians to work with parents, rather than utilizing mass inoculation sites. The vials and needles used to administer doses also will be smaller, the White House said. The shots will be available at more than 25,000 doctors’ offices and primary care sites, as well as children’s hospitals and pharmacies. “The administration will work with states and local partners to make vaccination sites available at schools and other trusted community-based sites across the country,” according to the White House statement. The doses, which are one-third the strength of the regular dose given to those 12 and up, will be shipped in smaller configurations more easily stored at a typical pediatrician’s office, the White House said. It will be possible to store them for up to 10 weeks at standard refrigeration temperatures and 6 months at ultra-cold temperatures. The Department of Health and Human Services will also launch an education campaign about the kids’ vaccine. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have [submitted](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-07/kids-in-line-for-u-s-covid-vaccine-as-soon-as-week-of-nov-1) data to the Food and Drug Administration ahead of an advisory panel meeting set for Oct. 26 that could help pave the way for kids ages 5 to 11 could get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as the first week in November. Vaccinating kids could could provide a boost both to Biden’s political fortunes and and public-health goals. Reaching children younger than age 12 would be a crucial step toward ending the pandemic, insulating them from the worst risks of COVID and further shrinking the pool of Americans vulnerable to spreading the virus. Public approval of Biden’s handling of the pandemic, and other issues including Afghanistan and his economic agenda, has been falling. Many parents, including the suburban voters Democrats need to keep control of Congress in the 2022 midterm elections, are eagerly anticipating a vaccine for children. It could also help working parents return to their offices and boost the travel sector with more families finally able to be fully inoculated. The White House outlined its Covid-19 plan to vaccinate younger children which would focus on smaller doses administered with smaller needles if the shots are authorized by regulators. “We will be ready to get shots in arms,” President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 response coordinator, Jeff Zients, said Wednesday during a White House briefing on the plan, which stresses the use of supporting school-based vaccine clinics. The U.S. has ordered enough supply to vaccinate all kids 5 to 11, the White House said in a [statement](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/20/fact-sheet-biden-administration-announces-update-on-operational-planning-for-covid-19-vaccinations-for-kids-ages-5-11/) Wednesday. The vaccination campaign for kids would differ from the one targeting adults and children 12 and older in that it will enlist pediatricians to work with parents, rather than utilizing mass inoculation sites. The vials and needles used to administer doses also will be smaller, the White House said. The shots will be available at more than 25,000 doctors’ offices and primary care sites, as well as children’s hospitals and pharmacies. “The administration will work with states and local partners to make vaccination sites available at schools and other trusted community-based sites across the country,” according to the White House statement. The doses, which are one-third the strength of the regular dose given to those 12 and up, will be shipped in smaller configurations more easily stored at a typical pediatrician’s office, the White House said. It will be possible to store them for up to 10 weeks at standard refrigeration temperatures and 6 months at ultra-cold temperatures. The Department of Health and Human Services will also launch an education campaign about the kids’ vaccine. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE have [submitted](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-07/kids-in-line-for-u-s-covid-vaccine-as-soon-as-week-of-nov-1) data to the Food and Drug Administration ahead of an advisory panel meeting set for Oct. 26 that could help pave the way for kids ages 5 to 11 could get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as the first week in November. Vaccinating kids could could provide a boost both to Biden’s political fortunes and and public-health goals. Reaching children younger than age 12 would be a crucial step toward ending the pandemic, insulating them from the worst risks of COVID and further shrinking the pool of Americans vulnerable to spreading the virus. Public approval of Biden’s handling of the pandemic, and other issues including Afghanistan and his economic agenda, has been falling. Many parents, including the suburban voters Democrats need to keep control of Congress in the 2022 midterm elections, are eagerly anticipating a vaccine for children. It could also help working parents return to their offices and boost the travel sector with more families finally able to be fully inoculated. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6108567/covid-vaccine-kids/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6108567/covid-vaccine-kids/"},"headline":"Schools and Pediatricians Will Be Key to Biden's Childhood Vaccine Rollout","datePublished":"2021-10-20T13:51:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T10:26:21.511Z","description":"Shots for kids 5-11 will be approved as soon as early November","url":"https://time.com/6108567/covid-vaccine-kids/","keywords":["COVID-19","wire","healthscienceclimate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde90673d3197f227/698a1de9b3fce38cec0c86ec/kids-covid-vaccine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde90673d3197f227/698a1de9b3fce38cec0c86ec/kids-covid-vaccine.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kids COVID-19 Vaccine","caption":"Jamie Blank (L) holds her son, Ari Blank's hand as he receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine","creditText":"Jeff Kowalsky—AFP/ Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/covid-19/","name":"COVID-19"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6108567/covid-vaccine-kids/","name":"Schools and Pediatricians Will Be Key to Biden's Childhood Vaccine Rollout"}}]}] ```