WASHINGTON — About 900,000 kids aged 5-11 will have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in their first week of eligibility, the White House said Wednesday.
Final clearance for the shots was granted by federal regulators on Nov. 2, with the first doses to kids beginning in some locations the following day.
Shortly after the vaccines' approval, White House COVID-19 response team coordinator Jeff Zients said it would take until the week of Nov. 8 for the vaccine distribution program to reach full capacity.
On Wednesday, Zients confirmed that nearly 20,000 pharmacies, clinics and physicians' offices are administering the doses. By the end of Wednesday, the White House estimates that more than 900,000 of the kid doses will have been administered.
Zients added that "through pharmacies alone, 700,000 additional appointments are already on the calendar at local pharmacies."
Kids who begin the two-dose regimen by the end of next week will have full protection from the vaccines by Christmas.
The White House says that the U.S. still has enough doses on hand to vaccinate all 28 million children in the country aged between 5 and 11.