Appointments fill up around Louisville area as Pfizer vaccine is approved for kids

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Now that the FDA and CDC have approved the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, the race to make an appointment is on.

In Louisville, parents can make appointments online for their kids at both Walgreens and CVS locations. Walgreens vaccinations begin Saturday, vaccinations at CVS start Sunday.

Norton Healthcare is also offering vaccinations through multiple medical offices. The hospital is encouraging parents in its healthcare system to make appointments at locations where their children have been treated before, so they may be more at ease when getting the shot.

About 400 timeslots with Norton Healthcare already filled up for this weekend, but officials say more appointments will be made available each day.

"We are looking through this daily. As we know we have staff that are willing to either work overtime or extra hours or work weekends, we're opening things up to be available to accommodate those patients," said Sam Zuege, director of operational optimization for Norton Medical Group.

To make an appointment with Norton Healthcare, click here.

Across the river, there has been a high demand for vaccinations in Clark County since Wednesday.

"We got clearance so we're like well we'll take walk-ins and we thought we'd just get a trickle but we did 120 that day," said Clark County Health Officer Dr. Eric Yazel. "We were pretty surprised."

Appointments are available at the Clark County Health Department Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Children can also be vaccinated at the Clark County Fairgrounds.

In Floyd County, kids can also be vaccinated at the Floyd County Health Department, located at 1917 Bono Road in New Albany.

A vaccination clinic will also be taking place at the Silver Street Park Gym on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and Monday, November 15 from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m.

Another clinic will be hosted at I.U. Southeast on Wednesday from 4 p.m. until 7 .m. and Saturday, November 13 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

To make an appointment at any of the southern Indiana locations, click here.

As the holidays approach, doctors around Kentuckiana are encouraging parents to sign their kids up to get vaccinated before large family gatherings.

"What we're finding is yes, children do very well with COVID infection, most have an uncomplicated course. That being said, some early studies have shown up to 10 to 15% of kids who have natural COVID-19 infection, have longer term symptoms and nobody wants that for their kids," said Yazel.

"Parents want to know: Is this safe for my child? The answer is 'Yes.' This vaccine has undergone rigorous safety testing. The most common side effect is a sore arm," said Dr. Kristina Bryant with Norton Children's Infectious Diseases.

The kids' Pfizer vaccine does require two shots and contains 1/3 of the adult dosage.

"So far, anecdotally followed up with a lot of our kids from Wednesday and things and they're symptom-free and people are doing great with it," Yazel said. "I think as time goes on and parents see that more and more, I think you're going to see even more uptake."

For parents who are still concerned about the vaccine, Yazel advises them to make sure their research is coming from verified sources. He says it's also a good idea to go over the vaccination process with your kid to see if they have any questions.