The following is a joint statement from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Click here to download a PDF of the memo.
Please help us to improve the health of Wisconsin’s youngest children through your continued dedication to recommending and administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
DHS is actively planning for the vaccination of Wisconsin’s youngest children
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is planning for the rollout of the new Moderna (blue cap) vaccine for children 6 months through 5 years of age and/or the Pfizer (maroon cap) for children 6 months through 4 years of age. DHS expects this effort to include many collaborative partners throughout the state.
We need your help in removing barriers to vaccinating our youngest children
Physicians, physician assistants, and nurses continue to do excellent work and play an important role in vaccinating patients against COVID-19. However, with the recent approval of COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5, there are additional barriers that may prevent many families from accessing the vaccine.
We encourage you and your medical team to expand their reach beyond your patient base, when possible, to help vaccinate Wisconsin’s youngest children that may not have a health care provider and/or regular access to health care. If you are unable to provide the vaccine on-site and need to refer patients between the ages of 6 months and 3 years to a local pharmacy, please provide them with a prescription to assist them.
We are asking physicians and health care systems to play an even larger role
Rolling out COVID-19 vaccines for children under age 5 will be different than what has occurred with other age groups. Unlike prior age groups, many of the youngest children may not be able to receive vaccines in pharmacies. We will need your help to get this new age group vaccinated. And we ask that health care systems make these new vaccines accessible at as many locations and points of care as possible.
