Will County Health Department To Hold COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic For Children ages 6 months to 4 years old

Will County Health Department will hold a special COVID-19 vaccination clinic for children six months to four years old on Thursday, June 23 from 9AM to 6PM at its 501 Ella Avenue, Joliet, location.

Vaccinations at this clinic are by appointment only. Schedule an appointment online at https:// willcountyhealth.org/covid-19/schedule-your-covid-vaccine/ or call 815-774-7386. Approximately 216 appointments will be available for this event.

WCHD has arranged this special vaccination event in response to the emergency use authorization announcement of June 17 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] concerning the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19?s use in children as young as six months of age. WCHD will offer both Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for children six months to four years old.

The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is given as a primary series of two does, one month apart, to individuals six months to seventeen years of age. This vaccine is also authorized to provide a third primary dose at least one month following the second dose for individuals in this age group who have been determined to be immune compromised.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is administered as a primary series of three doses in which the initial two doses are given three weeks apart followed by a third dose administered at least eight weeks after the second dose in individuals six months through four years of age.

The most commonly reported side effects in clinical trial participants 6 through 23 months of age who received the vaccine were irritability, decreased appetite, fever and pain, tenderness, redness and swelling at the injection site. These side effects were also reported for the vaccine recipients 2 through 4 years age, in addition to fever, headache, and chills.

The FDA and CDC safety surveillance systems have previously identified increased risks of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of tissue surrounding the heart) following vaccination with the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, particularly following the second dose. However, the observed risk is highest in males 18 through 24 years of age for the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and in males 12 through 17 years of age for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.

The FDA and the CDC analyses of available safety surveillance data from the U.S. and other countries on myocarditis outcomes continue to strengthen the evidence that most cases of myocarditis associated with the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are characterized by rapid resolution of symptoms following conservative management, with no impact on quality of life reported by most patients who were contacted for follow-up at 90 days or more after reporting myocarditis.