COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids – Get the Facts

COVID-19 vaccines are FREE, safe, and effective at preventing serious illness, and hospitalization related to the COVID-19 virus. Children ages 5 and up can now get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted people living with disabilities. Several studies have found that people with an intellectual or developmental disability are at least twice as likely to contract COVID-19 and experience severe complications from the virus, due largely in part to their greater use of public and shared spaces, where transmission of the virus is higher.1,2

The COVID-19 vaccine is a safe and effective way to prevent contracting COVID-19. In the clinical trials of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5-11, kids who received the vaccine were 91% less likely to become infected with COVID-10 than the kids who did not.3 For children ages 12-15, none of the patients who received the vaccine became ill, suggesting incredibly high effectiveness at preventing COVID-19.4

As of October 13 2021, 47% of children ages 12-17 in the U.S. have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.5

Visit azhealth.gov/VaccinesforKids for more information.

WHERE TO FIND COVID-19 VACCINES

Contact your primary care provider (PCP)’s office

Hundreds of pediatricians statewide will be administering the pediatric Pfizer vaccine. Contact your child’s provider to see if their clinic is one of them.

Vaccine Navigators

Continued support of vaccine navigation through the COVID-19 Hotline with English and Spanish speakers available 7 days a week from 8 am – 5 pm. Since June 1, the navigation line has supported over 8,200 calls with over 700 of those being Spanish-speaking callers. To access the COVID-19 hotline, dial 2-1-1.

Visit your local pharmacy

Be sure to call ahead to confirm that your vaccine brand of choice is available. While most pharmacies administer the vaccine on a walk-in basis, some can schedule an appointment to reduce wait time.

TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS

AHCCCS members

AHCCCS members can call the member services phone number on the front or back of your card and reference your Member ID and Health Plan ID numbers in order to request transportation to a vaccine clinic or event.

Are you or your child homebound?

For people who are unable to leave home or a doctor has indicated your health or illness could worsen by leaving home, please consider the following resources.

AHCCCS (Medicaid) Members

Please call the member services phone number on the front or back of your card and reference your Member ID and Health Plan ID numbers in order to request in-home vaccination services.

Not an AHCCCS member?

Ride-share apps Uber and Lyft offer FREE rides to and from vaccine events as well as pharmacies offering the vaccine.

Still have questions or concerns whether the COVID-19 vaccine is right for you or your child?

Speak to your primary care provider (PCP) – they can review you or your child’s medical history and answer questions related to potential side effects and risks associated with the vaccine.

For more information, visit: azhealth.gov/VaccinesforKids or reach out to ADHS with questions: healthequity@azdhs.gov.

Reminder: it is your right, under the law, to request reasonable accommodation for a disability, wherever you choose to get the vaccine.

Thank you to the Arizona Department of Health Services for providing this important and helpful information!


1 Spreat, S., Cox, R., & Davis, M. (N.D.). COVID-19 case and mortality report: Intellectual or developmental disabilities. https://www.ancor.org/sites/default/files/covid19_case_and_mortality_report.pdf

2 Gleason, Ross, Fossi, Blonksy, Tobias, & Stephens (2021). The devastating impact of COVID-19 on individuals with intellectual disabilities in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Catalyst.

3 COVID-19 Vaccines: Get the Facts https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-vaccine/art-20484859

4 COVID-19 vaccines for kids: What you need to know. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/covid-19-vaccines-for-kids/art-20513332.

5 https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-demographics-trends

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