State prepares to vaccinate kids 5-11 in anticipation of federal authorization

Health officials in Arizona say preparations are underway to provide COVID-19 vaccinations for children ages 5 to 11 if the federal government authorizes a pediatric lower-dose Pfizer vaccine in early November. In a blog post Wednesday, the acting director of the state Department of Health Services also encouraged parents to have their children vaccinated for COVID-19. Don Herrington says children should get the vaccine because there have been cases when otherwise healthy kids get extremely ill from COVID-19. He also says children are effective spreaders of the disease and that vaccinating children would move Arizona closer to herd immunity.