Hillsborough, Pinellas health clinics will vaccinate kids 5 to 11

Hillsborough and Pinellas children ages 5 to 11 can get their COVID-19 vaccination shots at their county health departments.

Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine doses are now available on weekdays at Progress Village Park at 8701 Progress Blvd. in Tampa, according to the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County. The facility is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Appointments can be booked in advance, but walk-ins are welcome. To book an appointment, visit patientportalfl.com or call 844-770-8548. The second-dose appointment will be booked during that first visit. But children must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian who can verbally confirm the child’s age.

The facility also offers the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine and booster shots to all those eligible, and conducts COVID testing.

No vaccinations are available at the county’s north Hillsborough testing site at the Code Enforcement Complex at 1101 E 139th Ave, off N Nebraska Avenue. Testing is available there seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Starting Friday, Pinellas children ages 5 to 11 can get vaccinated at state clinics in Clearwater, Largo, Pinellas Park and St. Petersburg on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Officials ask that appointments be booked in advance by calling 727-824-6931, but walk-in patients can also get vaccinated. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

The pediatric vaccine will not be available at the Tarpon Springs clinic. Here are the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County locations that will offer it:

• Clearwater Health Department, 310 N Myrtle Ave., Clearwater. Call 727-469-5800 for assistance.
• Mid-County Health Department, 8751 Ulmerton Road, Largo. Call 727-524-4410 for assistance.
• Pinellas Park Health Department, 6350 76th Ave. N, Pinellas Park. Call 727-547-7780 for assistance.
• St. Petersburg Health Department, 205 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N, St. Petersburg. Call 727-824-6931 for assistance.

The children’s vaccine is also available at doctor’s offices and pharmacies by appointment. To find a site in your ZIP code, check vaccines.gov.

You can also call the National COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Hotline at 800-232-0233, where operators can help in English, Spanish and other languages. The TTY line is 888-720-7489 and the Disability Information and Access Line is 888-677-1199, or email [email protected] for help.

U.S. health officials have approved child-size doses of Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11. It’s about a third of the adult dose, but is the same vaccine given to adults. Children will still need to get two shots, but the reduced dose has been shown to work just as well for kids as adults while still minimizing side effects.

The vaccines have proven to be safe and effective at preventing COVID and has shown to reduce the worst symptoms in vaccinated people who do contract the virus. Vaccinated people are also less likely to spread the disease.

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A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that unvaccinated participants who had contracted the virus are more than five times likely to get infected again versus fully vaccinated participants. Another CDC study shows the unvaccinated are more than 10 times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19, or die from it.

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How to get vaccinated

The COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5 and up and booster shots for eligible recipients are being administered at doctors’ offices, clinics, pharmacies, grocery stores and public vaccination sites. Many allow appointments to be booked online. Here’s how to find a site near you:

Find a site: Visit vaccines.gov to find vaccination sites in your zip code.

More help: Call the National COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Hotline.

Phone: 800-232-0233. Help is available in English, Spanish and other languages.

TTY: 888-720-7489

Disability Information and Access Line: Call 888-677-1199 or email [email protected].

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KIDS AND VACCINES: Got questions about vaccinating your kid? Here are some answers.

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