COLUMBUS, Ohio — Vaccine providers in Ohio received pediatric doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Tuesday as they readied to begin immunizations for kids ages 5 to 11.

What You Need To Know

• Shipments of the pediatric version of the vaccine arrived for providers in Ohio Tuesday


• The state will begin the expanded rollout with more than 350,000 pediatric doses


• Resources are available for families in search of appointments for kids ages 5 to 11

A pediatrician in Beachwood, Dr. Jan Kriwinsky, said his office received 300 doses Tuesday to begin offering the shot to patients and the public. Pediatric Place, which is an independent practice, sent automatic phone calls to several thousand patients Tuesday advising families that they can schedule appointments, he said. 

The pharmacy plans to begin offering the shots on Friday, which Kriwinsky said is an optimal day for those concerned about minor side effects and school.

“It’s convenient for the kids because if they have side effects, they’re better by Sunday. They can go back to school Monday,” he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend expanded authorization for children. 

Ohio received more than 350,000 doses to begin the rollout of the pediatric version of the vaccine, according to Gov. Mike DeWine’s office. Parental consent will be required for the new age group to be vaccinated, just as it has been for children 12 and older. So far, 43% of Ohioans ages 12 to 17 have received a vaccine.​

White House officials said Monday that the distribution process of 15 million doses began Friday shortly after the Food and Drug Administration gave authorization for the vaccine. Shipments packed with dry ice were sent to locations designated by the states. The federal government is shipping doses directly to pharmacies and community health centers.

Federal officials said families will be able to search for providers that have the pediatric vaccine in stock at Vaccines.gov. The Ohio Department of Health said its vaccine scheduling website can also be used to find appointments.

The pediatric version of the vaccine is drawn from vials with orange caps. (Courtesy of Pfizer)

For the first week of pediatric vaccine ordering, Ohio providers had to request allocations of at least 300 doses. In future weeks, that will drop once the state begins a process of dividing the shipments into smaller allocations. Kriwinsky said 300 doses is plenty to hold them over for a while, and he’s not worried about maintaining supply. 

Dr. Christopher Peltier, president-elect of the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said pediatrician’s offices will be the best place for many families to get their children vaccinated. 

“We know that younger kids are going to be more leery, a little bit more anxious about getting shots, but they're used to coming to our office, they've gotten other vaccines in our office, so they’ll just feel more comfortable,” said Peltier, a pediatrician at Pediatric Associates of Mount Carmel.

His practice also received a 300-dose shipment Tuesday morning, and Peltier said they were ready to begin vaccinating as soon as Tuesday night.  

“Our office is open till 8 p.m., and if families want to get it for their children, we'll start giving it tonight,” he said. 

The Ohio Department of Health said in a statement Monday that the state is committed to equitable distribution of the vaccine in all 88 counties. Ohio's partners include local health departments, hospitals, physicians, health centers, schools and pharmacies. 

Ohio officials hope to incentivize kids ages 5 to 11 to get vaccinated through its Vax-2-School scholarship lottery, which will award 150 $10,000 scholarships and five $100,000 scholarships for Ohioans 25 and under. 

Ohio Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said Monday that students should continue to wear masks in school following expanded authorization, noting that it takes five weeks for those receiving the Pfizer vaccine to have full protection. He said it’s premature to forgo masking in school at this point in time amid high levels of COVID-19 spread in the state.

Peltier said the goals with childhood vaccinations are twofold — protecting children from becoming ill, and, just as importantly, cutting pediatric transmission that could lead to infections among more at-risk age groups.

“In the last several weeks, 25% of all of the positive COVID cases in the U.S. have been in kids," he said. "We're still seeing a large number of kids get sick."