Brunswick County Health Services now offering COVID-19 vaccines to children 6 months of age and older
MEDIA RELEASE
BOLIVIA, N.C. – Brunswick County Health Services is now offering the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to children 6 months of age and older. These vaccines will be available at our main clinic in Bolivia and at our pop-up vaccination clinics. Future dates for pop-up clinics have yet to be determined.
The emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, which was previously authorized for use in adults 18 years of age and older, has now been amended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to include the use of the vaccine for individuals 6 months through 17 years of age.
The EUA for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, which was previously authorized for use in individuals 5 years of age and older, has been amended by the FDA to include the use of the vaccine in individuals 6 months through 4 years of age.
Children 6 months to 4 years of age get a smaller vaccine dose than children ages 5 to 11 years. For children ages 5 to 11 years, each 0.2mL dose contains 10 mcg of the modRNA vaccine. For children ages 6 months to 4 years, each 0.2mL dose contains 3 mcg of the modRNA vaccine. Booster shots are currently not authorized for children in this age group.
“Our goal in Health Services is to protect and improve the health of our residents in Brunswick County,” Health Director Cris Harrelson said. “Many individuals have been waiting for a vaccine for infants and children to help protect them from the dangers of COVID-19. We have confidence in the FDA’s rigorous evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines.”
The FDA and the CDC have several systems in place to continually monitor COVID-19 vaccine safety and allow for the timely detection and investigation of potential safety concerns. Additionally, ModernaTX Inc. and Pfizer Inc. have submitted plans to continue monitoring the safety of the vaccines as they are used under the EUA. These plans ensure that any safety concerns are identified and evaluated in a timely manner, including myocarditis and pericarditis.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS), no safety concerns or serious side effects have been noted in the clinical trials for either of the two vaccines.
Parents and caregivers can help monitor the safety of these vaccines by signing their children up for v-safe. V-safe provides personalized and confidential health check-ins via text messages and web surveys where they can easily share with CDC how a child feels after getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
Eligible community members can book an appointment for their vaccines and boosters at our main health clinic in Bolivia either online or through the Public Health Call Line:
- Schedule online here
- Call the Public Health Call Line at 910.253.2339 (Open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding holidays)
COVID-19 vaccines are free to everyone regardless of whether they have insurance. Insurance is not required, but you are encouraged to bring your ID and insurance cards, if available.
Brunswick County Health Services offers the following vaccines for the community:
- First and second doses for everyone aged 6 months and up*
- Third additional doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna (mRNA) vaccines for the immunocompromised
- First booster vaccines (eligible for everyone aged 5 years and up)*
- Second booster vaccines (eligible for adults aged 50 and up, people who received Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine for their first shot and first booster, and people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised)
Health Services will have all vaccine types—Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and J&J/Janssen—at these clinics. Those aged 6 months-17 years are eligible for the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech versions of the vaccine only.
*Health Services requires written permission from a parent/legal guardian to administer vaccines to those aged 6 months-15 years and boosters to those aged 5-17 years. Those aged 5-11 years are eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech version of the booster only. If someone else brings your child to these clinics, complete a consent form to send with them. Click here to download consent form or visit brunswickcountync.gov/vaccines.
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Media Inquiries
For media inquiries, contact the Communications Director at 910.253.2995 or email meagan.kascsak@brunswickcountync.gov