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Local pharmacies waiting for the green light to start vaccinating kids 5-11 against COVID-19

Posted at 10:17 PM, Oct 29, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-29 23:25:40-04

MILWAUKEE — Pharmacists at Hayat Pharmacy are waiting to get the green light to start vaccinating kids between the ages of 5 and 11 years old against COVID-19. With a big announcement from the Food and Drug Administration Friday, they're one step closer to making that happen.

"We are closer and closer to the end of this pandemic," said CEO and founder of Hayat Pharmacy, Hashim Zaibak

On Friday, the FDA authorized Pfizer's lower-dose vaccine for kids under 12, paving the way for 28 million children nationwide to get the COVID-19 shot.

"That's a significant percentage of our community, and they are the ones who are in school, they are spreading the virus," said Zaibak.

Dr. Hashim Zaibak says the vaccine dosage for this age group will be a lot different compared to the dosage for adults.

"The concentration is different. The amount of the diluent that you're going to add to dilute the vaccine is going to be different. The amount we inject into the body is going to be different," said Zaibak.

Pharmacists at Hayat Pharmacy are waiting to get the green light to start vaccinating kids between the ages of 5 and 11 years old against COVID-19.
Pharmacists at Hayat Pharmacy are waiting to get the green light to start vaccinating kids between the ages of 5 and 11 years old against COVID-19.

Shots cannot be administered just yet. The Centers for Disease Control still has to give approval, and then it has to be approved by the state of Wisconsin. Health officials said it could start in Milwaukee County by the end of next week.

"As soon as we get the authorization from the state, we are going to immediately give the vaccine to the children," said Zaibak.

Meanwhile, time has run out for Milwaukee city employees to submit proof of their COVID-19 vaccination. Currently, officials say 91.2 percent of workers have complied, 231 have not.

For staff and providers at Froedtert Hospital, they have until Nov. 1 to get their vaccines. As of Friday, officials say they've seen a 98.7 percent staff vaccine compliance rate. Out of the more than 13,000 employees who work for the hospital, 168 staff members without an exemption have not received a vaccine dose and are expected to voluntarily resign Monday.

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More data on Wisconsin's vaccination progress here.

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