MILWAUKEE — It is a waiting game for parents who are trying to find out where they can get their young kids vaccinated as soon as possible.
Sage Specialty Pharmacy in Shorewood was expecting to get 300 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for kids Wednesday. Instead, it only received a box of supplies from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
“We got syringes and that kind of thing this morning, and usually they send the vaccine the same day,” said Jon Phillips, the owner of Sage.
Phillips says as soon as the vaccine for kids arrives, his team is prepared to start administering it. They currently have a wait list of more than 50 kids.
“We expect to vaccinate somewhere between 30 and 50 kids a day,” Phillips said.
We know doses of Pfizer’s vaccine for five to 11-year-olds have arrived here in Wisconsin. UW Health shared video of staff receiving and storing boxes of the vaccine Wednesday. UW Health says it expects to begin administering it in the coming days, and that parents can begin scheduling their children for vaccinations later this week.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says vaccinations will begin as soon as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention releases official clinical guidance.
Pfizer’s two-shot vaccine for children is about one-third of its adult dose.
“The dose is different, so we just need to make sure there are additional safety factors in place, so we don't mix doses,” said Dr. Michael Gutzeit, the Chief Medical Officer at Children’s Wisconsin. “We want to make sure all pediatric offices are prepared to give the appropriate dose to the appropriate-aged patient.”
Gutzeit confirms Children’s Wisconsin clinics and primary care doctors' offices will start administering the vaccine to kids Monday.
That is the same day the Milwaukee Health Department will start offering the shot at 12 Milwaukee Public Schools, nine Seton Catholic Schools, the Northwest and Southside Health Centers, and a drive-thru location at 2401 West St. Paul Avenue in the Menomonee River Valley.
What individual and locally owned pharmacies are doing varies. Like Sage Pharmacy, Hayat Pharmacy’s main vaccination site on Layton, is also ready to start vaccinating kids as soon as it gets its shipment of doses for kids.
In contrast, Northshore Pharmacy is booked through this weekend administering booster shots to adults, so the team there will start vaccinating kids next week.
We have calls into national chain pharmacies. CVS confirms it will start vaccinating five to 11-year-olds this Sunday at six of its stores in Wisconsin.
The best thing parents can do is call their provider, local pharmacy or health department and try to schedule an appointment for their child in advance or get on a waiting list.