RALEIGH: Governor Roy Cooper and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. toured Chapel Hill Pediatrics and Adolescents, P.A. in Orange County to see their operations to vaccinate children ages 5-11. The pediatrician’s office will begin administering vaccines for children ages 5-11, following the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization of a lower dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendation that children ages 5–11 receive the vaccine.

“This safe and effective vaccine will provide children with an extra layer of protection, so they can continue to safely attend school in-person, spend time with their friends and play sports,” Gov. Cooper said. “We are grateful for the hard work of state health officials who have been preparing for this moment and the providers across the state who are beginning to administer this vaccine. Children are vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus and it’s important to make sure they are protected.”

“As a parent, having a safe vaccine to protect my young daughters from COVID-19 is a huge relief,” said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. “I am getting them vaccinated because I want to do everything possible to keep them healthy and to get them safely back to the things they love.”

Chapel Hill Pediatrics and Adolescents, P.A. is a pediatric center with offices in Chapel Hill and Durham, dedicated to providing high-quality medical care to sick and well infants, children and adolescents in a supportive, caring and respectful environment. The pediatric center works to make it easy for community members to get a COVID-19 shot by holding community outreach events and clinics.

"Vaccinating children against Covid-19 gets us another step closer to the end of this pandemic," said Dr. Mary Braithwaite, pediatrician at Chapel Hill Pediatrics & Adolescents. "At Chapel Hill Pediatrics & Adolescents we also see vaccinating children as an additional way to reduce their risk of illness while they are back in school in person. We have reviewed the data, listened to our health leaders and we are confident that these vaccines are beneficial and safe."

On Tuesday, the FDA authorized a lower dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 and the CDC recommended children in this age group get the shot. The Pfizer vaccine has already been approved for people ages 12 and older.

NCDHHS has been working with pediatricians, family medicine providers, local health departments, pharmacies and other vaccine providers so they are operationally ready to administer vaccines.

Children are given two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Each dose is one-third the amount given to people ages 12 and older. Trials show that the vaccine produces a similar immune response in children 5–11 as in older kids and adults ages 16–25. There were no safety concerns or serious side effects noted in the clinical trials.

To date, North Carolina has administered more than 11.6 million doses of the vaccine. Seventy-one percent of adults have received at least one shot, including 92 percent of North Carolinians ages 65 and older. Sixty-seven percent of adults have been fully vaccinated.

People can learn more about the state’s vaccine distribution at myspot.nc.gov (English) or Vacunate.nc.gov (Spanish). Use NCDHHS’ online tool Find a Vaccine Location to find a nearby vaccine site. Call the state’s COVID-19 vaccine hotline at 888-675-4567.