Beach Cities, Manhattan Beach Schools Plan Vaccine Clinics for Kids
Nov 04, 2021 03:11PM ● By Jeanne Fratello
The Beach Cities Health District has partnered with the Manhattan Beach Unified School District and other beach cities school districts to offer vaccine clinics for a newly approved COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.
BCHD
has planned clinics for Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach to host school
pop-up clinics starting November 8.
The local clinics will be held as follows:
Parents should register their children for appointments at https://myturn.ca.gov/clinic.html.
Please note the following about the schedule:
- Nov. 11 is a school holiday (Veterans Day); the vaccine clinic will take place as scheduled at Hermosa Valley School.
- No clinics will be scheduled Thanksgiving week (Nov. 22 - 26).
- Second dose clinics will take place between Nov. 29 - Dec. 9. Parents/guardians are able to schedule both first and second dose appointments through My Turn.
For questions, call BCHD’s School Well-Being Line at 310-374-3426 and press option 2, Monday - Thursday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Friday: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Visit www.bchd.org/schoolvaccines for registration information, maps and FAQs about the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11.
Vaccines Endorsed by Pediatric Experts
The past week has been a landmark week for vaccine approvals. On November 2, the CDC endorsed its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP)
recommendation that children 5-11 years old be vaccinated against
COVID-19 with the Pfizer BioNTech pediatric vaccine. The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup also concluded that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is safe and effective for children 5-11 years old.
This
follows last Tuesday’s approval by the Food and Drug Administration of a
lower dose of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages
5-11.
“As a mother and a physician, I know that parents, caregivers,
school staff, and children have been waiting for today’s authorization.
Vaccinating younger children against COVID-19 will bring us closer to
returning to a sense of normalcy,” said Acting FDA Commissioner Janet
Woodcock, M.D., in a statement following the FDA's announcement of its approval. “Our comprehensive and rigorous evaluation of the data
pertaining to the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness should help assure
parents and guardians that this vaccine meets our high standards.”
The effort has earned local endorsements as well.
"There are no medications that are studied more, and more rigorously
monitored, than vaccines," said UCLA Health pediatrician and infectious disease expert Dr. Annabelle de St. Maurice in a report for UCLA Health.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine formulation for children ages 5 to 11 is a
smaller dose — one-third the amount given to people age 12 and older.
This dosage was determined in an early phase of the clinical trial, Dr.
de St. Maurice said, and was found to produce an immune response similar
to that seen in older children receiving the full dose.
“Parents should rest assured that a lot of thought, a lot of effort,
and a lot of scientific review has gone into authorizing this vaccine
for emergency use and recommending it to children. This vaccine has been
studied in thousands of volunteers who have participated in clinical
trials, which included a number of diverse populations," said de St. Maurice. "It's clear to me that these vaccines are safe, they're effective and
that they will help our children get protected from serious
consequences of COVID-19.”
Additionally, local pediatricians Erin Hamilton and Richard Brucker recently answered a series of vaccine FAQs for parents through Torrance Memorial Hospital.
Vast Majority of Manhattan Beach Students Age 12-18 Vaccinated
While there are pockets of vaccine resistance around the country, Manhattan Beach has appeared to embrace the vaccine for its young people. Data from the Los Angeles County Department of Health shows that in the Manhattan Beach Unified School District, 93.5% of students ages 12-18 have received at least one dose of the vaccine as of October 24.
There is currently no vaccine mandate at MBUSD.
Nevertheless, on Wednesday afternoon before the MBUSD school board meeting, a "Rally for Freedom" drew approximately 60 people holding signs and waving flags on Artesia Blvd. outside Mira Costa High School.
The participants said they were protesting mask, vaccine, and testing mandates for children; as well as critical race theory; social-emotional learning; EDSJI (equity, diversity, social justice and inclusion); and RUVNA (the COVID-19 symptom screening app parents are required to fill out before students are admitted to school for the day).
