COVID-19 Vaccines Approved for Children Six Months and Older

June 21, 2022 – On June 19, 2022, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced supporting the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in recommending Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 (Coronavirus) vaccines for children as young as six months.

“COVID-19 has become one of the top five leading causes of death in children, and vaccines make these deaths preventable,” said Dr. Caryn Slack, MD, MPH, Mono County Health Officer.  “We are pleased that COVID-19 protection is now available for the whole family.”

The EUA will add young children aged six months through four years old to those eligible to receive a Pfizer vaccine (three doses), and children and adolescents aged six months through 17 years old to get a Moderna vaccine (two doses).

COVID-19 VACCINATION CLINICS

Mono County is operationally ready to immediately begin administering vaccines for infants and toddlers aged 6 months and older this week.  Visit myturn.ca.gov to schedule COVID-19 vaccination appointments.  Parents are encouraged to contact their health care provider or visit Vaccinate ALL 58 to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines available for all Californians aged six months and older.

COVID-19 TESTING

Both OptumServe and Mono County Public Health provide free COVID-19 testing clinics in Mono County (pending weather-related issues). In addition, every home in the U.S. is eligible to order three (3) sets of at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests from the federal government at no charge.  The tests are completely free, and orders will usually ship in 7-12 days.  The tests can be accessed here: https://www.covid.gov/tests.

About the tests:

  • The at-home tests are rapid antigen tests, not PCR
  • Can be taken anywhere
  • Results in 30 minutes (no lab drop-off required)
  • The tests will work whether or not you have COVID-⁠19 symptoms
  • The tests will work whether or not you are up to date on your COVID-⁠19 vaccines

When to test:

  • If you begin having COVID-⁠19 symptoms, including fever, sore throat, runny nose, or loss of taste or smell, or
  • At least 5 days after you come into close contact with someone with COVID-⁠19, or
  • When you’re going to gather with a group of people, especially those who are at risk of severe disease or may not be up to date on their COVID-⁠19 vaccines

Mono County Public Health offers testing in other locations throughout the county at various times throughout the week.  While both OptumServe and Mono County Public Health accept walk-ins at their COVID-19 testing clinics, pre-registration is strongly encouraged as walk-ins will only be accommodated pending resource availability.

The COVID-19 testing schedule can be accessed here: https://coronavirus.monocounty.ca.gov/pages/health.

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