Forsyth County is preparing to offer Pfizer COVID-19 shots to 5 to 11 year-olds when federal officials give the green light. That's expected to happen in the next few days.
At a press conference Thursday, Forsyth County Public Health Director Joshua Swift said they plan to hold children's vaccination events at the health department on Saturdays starting November 6, as long as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approval comes before then.
They're also partnering with Konnoak and Gibson Elementary Schools to offer on-campus shots on Saturdays beginning in mid-November.
Swift says that though he expects demand for the shot will rise once children are eligible, he doesn't think they'll encounter the same challenges they did when vaccines initially became available last winter.
“When vaccines first rolled out, we had a larger population that was eligible. We have only 35,000 children that are even eligible. The state statistics show that about 19,000 or 20,000 will actually get the vaccine," says Swift. "And we know that there's now more places to get the vaccine.”
Swift says if they can't make any of the Saturday clinics, parents are welcome to visit the health department during their weekday hours to get their children vaccinated.