Vaccine appointments for children filling up fast

Most appointments for children on the Palouse have already been booked as local health authorities began rolling out COVID-19 vaccination programs this week.

About 900 children between ages 5-11 registered for pediatric vaccine clinics hosted by Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories.

Many received their first dose yesterday during one of the two clinics, which were both fully booked, according to Schweitzer spokesperson Kate Whilhite. The second clinic takes place today from 3-6 p.m.

“They are still full, even after expanding by an hour,” Wilhite said. “We have as many kids coming as we have vaccine, at this point.”

With the recent blessing from federal authorities, other health care providers in the area have mobilized to meet the need as well.

Appointments for a pediatric COVID-19 vaccine clinic hosted by Gritman Medical Center last Saturday filled within a day. A waitlist was established for families who couldn’t snag a spot. However, another clinic is not yet on the schedule, according to Gritman Marketing Content Manager Brad Gary.

Palouse Medical in Pullman is holding a pediatric vaccine clinic Wednesday, but only for established patients.

On Thursday, Sid’s Pharmacy is planning a clinic for all children ages 5-11. There were some available slots Monday afternoon, but the person in charge of scheduling the COVID-19 vaccine appointments at Sid’s, Karey Reali, doesn’t expect them to last long.

“We did a clinic last week and the demand was pretty high,” Reali said. “We couldn’t get everyone in who wanted it so we opened up for this week as well.”

At the Walmart in Moscow, doses of the pediatric version of the COVID-19 vaccine were delayed. Sabrina Miller, a pharmacy technician at the store, said shipments scheduled to arrive last Friday never showed up. The doses should be available within the next two weeks, according to Miller.

While the Pfizer-BioNTech shots approved for adults are 30 micrograms of RNA, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the version intended for children is only 10 micrograms.

Frank Harrill, vice president of security at Schweitzer, said the engineering firm is partnering with Whitman County Public Health and other local organizations to hold their clinics.

“There’s a high demand now that the vaccine is available to those 5-11,” Harrill said. “We aim to make it a very pleasant experience for the children and their parents.”

Palermo can be reached at apalermo@dnews.com or on Twitter @apalermotweets.