More area pharmacies to offer pediatric COVID-19 vaccines

Children ages 5 to 11 became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Missouri last week. Parents will have several options to get their kids the shot starting next week.

A pediatric COVID-19 vaccine clinic will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Cape Girardeau Central Middle School.

According to Abe Funk, pharmacist and co-owner of John's Pharmacy, 500 doses will be available at the clinic. Appointments are required and can be made on John's Pharmacy's website. The clinic is open to all children ages 5 to 11.

Another clinic will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. Dec. 10 at Cape Girardeau Central Middle School so kids may receive the second dose of the vaccine.

The clinic is a collaboration among Cape Girardeau School District, Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, Broadway Pharmacy and John's Pharmacy.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Serives distributed more than 116,000 doses of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine across the state last week. Department officials stated last week plans to "scale up to full capacity" over the next few days.

Several local pharmacies have begun scheduling pediatric COVID-19 vaccine availability.

Starting next week, Jones Drug Store in Jackson will begin offering pediatric COVID-19 vaccines on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays by appointment only.

Chaffee Drug Store began offering Pfizer's pediatric shot this week. Appointment times can be made for slots between 3 and 5 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Appointments are required and can be made by calling Chaffee Drug Store at (573) 262-8037.

According to a representative of Walmart on Thursday morning, the Walmart Supercenter off East Jackson Boulevard is the only location in the Cape Girardeau area currently offering the COVID-19 shot for kids.

The Bollinger County Health Center also offers the pediatric vaccine. Appointments can be made on the center's website.

John's Pharmacy opened appointments up Monday. Shortly after, all of the pharmacy's available appointments were booked through Thanksgiving, according to Funk.

"I hope by next week we'll have more slots available," Funk said.

Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center and Scott County Health Department currently do not offer Pfizer's pediatric COVID-19 vaccine at their locations.

The Southeast Missourian has not received confirmation of vaccine availability from Walgreens and CVS Pharmacies after requests for comment. Scheduling appointments for the pediatric vaccine on each of the companies' websites was not permitted for nearby locations.