Sansum clinic hosted an all day COVID-19 vaccine clinic for children in Santa Barbara on Wednesday.
It was first-come-first served and by-appointment at the Sansum Pediatrics Department at 51 Hitchcock Way.
The primary focus was administering the Pfizer vaccine to 338 patients ages 5 to 11.
“Vaccinating this group of children is an important step in the fight against COVID-19,” commented Saida Hamdani, MD, Sansum Clinic Pediatrician. “While we are not the only place in town vaccinating children of this age, we felt strongly about playing a part in the local effort to vaccinate a large number of youth before the holiday season begins.”
Children can still receive the Pfizer vaccine during regular visits to the Pediatrics Department; however, the significance of Wednesday’s clinic was to vaccinate a large group of children in hopes of quicker immunization.
Roughly 28 million U.S. children became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine with the FDA’s and CDC’s emergency authorization.
According to Sansum Clinic, since the beginning of the pandemic it has provided 800 COVID-19 vaccines to children, and 27,500 COVID-19 vaccines to adults over 18.
As of November 16, 61.3% of Santa Barbara county was fully vaccinated and 71.9 % of those eligible to receive vaccine (age 5 and up) were vaccinated.
Pediatrics patients coming to Sansum Clinic for a COVID-19 vaccine need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and fill out a required consent form [covid19.sansumclinic.org].
To schedule a COVID-19 vaccine visit MyChart, or by call (805) 563-6211.
In addition, local pharmacies are administering vaccines for children.