COVID-19 vaccine (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)
Nov. 4, 2021 By Allie Griffin
Children aged five to 11 can now receive the COVID-19 vaccine and become a $100-richer at any city-run vaccine site or school pop-up.
Children under 12 years old became eligible for the vaccine after the CDC gave final clearance of the FDA-approved Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday. They were able to get vaccinated at city-run sites Thursday and, in turn, receive a $100 prepaid debit card.
“Good news, kids are eligible for the $100 vaccine incentive,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday.
De Blasio encouraged parents to get their youngsters vaccinated and take advantage of the financial incentive.
“Everyone could use a little more money around the holidays,” he said. “But, most importantly, we want our kids and our families to be safe.”
The city will also offer the vaccine to children at public schools on a rotating basis beginning Monday. The city will host one-day pop-up vaccination drives at each school that serves kids five to 11 from Nov. 8 through Nov. 15. Children can get their $100 debit card at school sites as well.
Parents can find out when their child’s school vaccination day is by visiting schools.nyc.gov/COVID-19.
Parents or guardians are required to accompany their child to school to get the vaccine. The city is also looking at written consent options for school vaccinations and plans to announce more details soon, de Blasio said.
New York City will receive about 330,000 pediatric doses — which are smaller than adult doses — of the Pfizer vaccine in the coming days, Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said.
Chokshi said the Pfizer vaccine for five- to 11-year-olds is safe and more than 90 percent effective.
“Here’s the bottom line – I strongly encourage parents and caregivers to get your children vaccinated as soon as possible,” he said. “Based on the CDC presentation this week, if we were to vaccinate every New Yorker aged five to 11, we would prevent an estimated 38,000 cases of COVID-19.”
Parents who have questions about the vaccine can speak to a medical official by calling the city’s Test and Trace Corps hotline at 212-COVID-19.
“With the vaccine, we have a chance to make COVID-19 largely a vaccine-preventable disease among kids, similar to chickenpox, rubella, and rotavirus — all diseases for which childhood immunization is now routine,” Chokshi said. “Let’s do the same for COVID-19.”
Parents and guardians can make vaccination appointments for their children by going to nyc.gov/vaccinefinder, or by calling 8-7-7-VAX-4-NYC.
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