CVS to begin vaccinations for those 18 months-4 years old at MinuteClinic locations

Miami-Dade County, Florida – Florida was the only state not to pre-order the vaccines, slowing down the process of distributing them to doctors in our area, despite the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration saying are safe and effective for kids.

According to Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Department of Health recommended against the shots last week, going against the recommendations of the CDC and the FDA, and doctors all across the country.

Saying he’s wrong and putting children at risk, Florida’s medical community has pushed back against his statements.

So now, as pediatricians, hospitals, and health clinics are ordering them for their patients, they’re unclear when they’re going to get the shots as they’re also dealing with concerns and questions from parents wondering if they should get their kids vaccinated.

“What we have seen is that a high majority of the patients that have gotten very sick, critically ill, were not vaccinated. So we do think that there is protection with the vaccine from the severity of the disease, and I think that they bring up very good points, very valid points about, you know, ‘The vaccine’s relatively new. We don’t know much about the vaccine.’ Well, that’s true, but we also don’t know much about the virus, also, meaning its long-term effects on patients,” said Dr. Guillermo DeAngulo, of Kidz Medical Services.

According to some of the biggest private pediatric practices in Florida, they’re still trying to figure out when they’ll get the vaccines, and hospitals, like Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, say they’re going to do their best to communicate with the community about their timeline.

“Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is working to secure supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine for children under age 5,” the hospital said in a statement Monday. “Once we have the vaccine in hand, we will update our vaccine clinic web page and post the information on social media. We thank interested parents for their patience while we take steps to make the vaccine available to this latest population for which the Centers for Disease Control now recommends the vaccine.”

Beginning Tuesday at its MinuteClinic locations, CVS confirmed that they will begin administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to those 18 months to 4 years old.

Appointments can be made by visiting MinuteClinic.com.

For now, the best thing you can do is check with your child’s pediatrician and see when they will be available.