Here's help for parents frustrated in getting their young children vaccinated against COVID-19.
Sulzbacher Village, at 5455 Springfield Blvd. in Jacksonville, will offer vaccines for children 6 months and older from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The event is open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. No advance registration is required.
Sulzbacher is a comprehensive program for the homeless. Sulzbacher Village is a community for women and families that includes housing, health care and an early learning center.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday approved COVID-19 vaccinations for children under age 5, but the shots have been difficult to come by in Northeast Florida.
Florida was the only state in the country that decided not to preorder vaccines from the federal government. Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said there is insufficient evidence that vaccines are effective for children, although both the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded they are.
The Florida Department of Health said parents can have their children vaccinated at doctor's offices or pharmacies, but many pediatricians are scrambling to obtain a supply on their own. Some say vaccines should be more readily available soon.
As a federally qualified health center, Sulzbacher said it was able to obtain 2,400 doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines from the federal government.
Publix, one of the biggest vaccine distributors, said this week that it would not inoculate children under 5 "at this time." The company did not give an explanation.
CVS is scheduling vaccine appointments for children as young as 18 months. Walgreens and Walmart are taking appointments for kids 3 and up.
