Time slots for inoculating kids aged 5 to 11 against the COVID-19 virus were filling quickly for the month of November at the Connecticut River Area Health District’s (CRAHD) web site, just two days after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for this age group on Nov. 2.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had already granted emergency use authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine for kids on Oct. 29. A 10-microgram dose of Pfizer’s vaccine was authorized by the FDA for young children, as opposed to the 30 micrograms for those age 12 and older, according to Reuters on Nov. 2.

In addition to CRAHD, the vaccine became widely available throughout Connecticut at several pharmacies, hospitals and pediatrician offices. To find a nearby vaccination location, visit www.vaccines.gov/search.

“We’re really excited about it,” said Dr. Michelle DiLorenzo of the vaccine’s rollout. “We really have been waiting for this to happen.”

DiLorenzo is one of five pediatricians at Wildwood Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, which has offices in Essex and Old Saybrook. The practice just recently completed a lengthy process to be approved as COVID-19 vaccinators and anticipates being able to administer it to patients in December.

“It took us quite a few months to actually get approved through the state,” said DiLorenzo. “We have a meeting tomorrow to see what else we need to do to be able to get the vaccine and house the vaccine.”

In the meantime, she is offering support to all local vaccination clinics.

“We’re encouraging people to please don’t delay getting it because they want to get it here,” said DiLorenzo. “We really trust the other places and we know that they will do a good job.”

She said that parent feedback on inoculating their children aged 5 to 11 has been mixed.

“People are either like ‘May God have mercy, when can we get it?’, to people who are like, ‘I’m not sure,’” DiLorenzo said.

DiLorenzo discussed some of the risks children face if they contract COVID-19.

“Your kid could just get a cold and be fine,” said DiLorenzo. “Your kid could have asymptomatic COVID and get MIS-C and be in the hospital with really bad cardiac issues and stuff.”

MIS-C causes inflammation throughout the body. The CDC says that it does not know what causes it, but that “many children with MIS-C had the virus the causes COVID-19 or had been around someone with COVID-19,” according to the CDC web site.

“So, you just don’t know what kind of COVID your kid could get,” DiLorenzo added.

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on several different aspects of a child’s wellbeing – socially, developmentally and in terms of disruptions to their education, especially with school quarantines this year, she said.

The benefits of getting the vaccine outweigh any potential side effects from it, she added, including the risk of myocarditis, which she is often asked about.

“The chance of them getting myocarditis from the vaccine is 0.006 percent,” said Dr. DiLorenzo. “If they get myocarditis from the vaccine, it’s going to resolve and it’s going to be much more self-limited” as opposed to the chance of getting myocarditis from a COVID-19 infection, which can “last longer and be more severe.”

Many parents also have concerns related to infertility, which DiLorenzo said is based on misinformation.

“There is no foundation for concerns about fertility,” said Dr. DiLorenzo, who explained that messenger RNA, or mRNA, which is the technology that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is based on, does not change a person’s genes.

“People will say, ‘Well it’s mRNA, it mixes with my genes.’ It does not go into anybody’s genetic pool, okay? mRNA is how it is carried into the system, into your body and delivered. It doesn’t go into your genes and cause a reaction,” said DiLorenzo.

“So, it really is a safe vaccine. The things that people talk about with myocarditis and fertility and you know, ‘ruining my genes’—those things are completely unfounded,” she continued.

DiLorenzo reiterated what many state and local health officials are saying, that by having more people vaccinated, it’s less likely for variants to develop and for there to be breakthrough cases among those inoculated against the COVID-19 virus.

“We are really just hoping that if we can vaccinate kids they won’t be a reservoir for giving it to younger kids who aren’t vaccinated. They won’t be a reservoir for giving it to people who aren’t vaccinated or adults who aren’t vaccinated,” said DiLorenzo. “So, that is a bunch of people that if we can vaccinate them, they will be less likely to get it and less likely to spread it if they get it.”

COVID-19 Vaccine in Chester, Deep River, Essex

Data from the State Department of Public Health, as of Oct. 27, shows 81.85 percent of residents in Essex, 76.86 percent of residents in Deep River, and 72.44 percent of residents in Chester have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The state data shows that for those 65 and older, 91.13 percent of residents in Chester, 100 percent of residents in Deep River, and 100 percent of residents in Essex have been fully vaccinated.

In the 45- to 64-year-old age bracket, 66.5 percent of residents in Chester, 81.86 percent of residents in Deep River, and 75.93 percent of residents in Essex have been fully vaccinated.

In the 25- to 44-year-old age bracket, 80.19 percent of residents in Chester, 65.49 of residents in Deep River, and 75.51 percent of residents in Essex have been fully vaccinated.

In the 18- to 24-year-old age bracket, 63.57 percent of residents in Chester, 74.47 of residents in Deep River, and 87.09 percent of residents in Essex have been fully vaccinated.

In the 12- to 17-year-old age bracket, 58.22 percent of residents in Chester, 61.54 of residents in Deep River, and 61.48 of residents in Essex have been fully vaccinated.