Gov. Hochul: Parents should schedule kids’ COVID shots now
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Call to schedule your child’s COVID vaccine now. That was the message Gov. Kathy Hochul had Tuesday for parents of children ages 5 to 11.
Even though the government has not approved any vaccine for this age group yet, it is expected sometime in November.
The governor talked about where the vaccines may be available, but advised parents to start making appointments with their pediatrician.
"I’m telling the parents, make your appointments now," said Hochul. "You don’t want to hear that the first appointment available is in February, when you want your child to have that shot as soon as possible."
In addition to schools and doctors’ offices, Hochul said they are exploring the possibility of mass vaccination sites geared towards children between the ages of 5 and 11.
A 13-year-old child gets a COVID shot.[AP Photo / Marcio Jose Sanchez]
She said there are about 1 1/2 million children in New York state who fall into that category.
In addition, the governor also unveiled a new COVID data hub. The governor says the hub will include the school COVID dashboard, nursing home statistics, hospitalizations and vaccination rates by county. The state will continue to add more data.
MORE INFORMATION: COVID-19 data in New York