St. Clair County is planning COVID vaccination clinics for children. Here’s what we know

With the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine now recommended for children ages 5-11 in Illinois, the St. Clair County Health Department will begin offering vaccination clinics for kids at the department headquarters.

Health Department Director Myla Blandford said during Wednesday’s weekly briefing that the clinics would begin next week by appointment only, with some appointments still available as of now.

Then, the week of Nov. 15, the health department will begin evening clinics from 4-7 p.m. Monday-Wednesday as well as select Saturdays.

The health department is located at 19 Public Square in Belleville. Children must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, and appointments are mandatory.

Blandford explained why the county will offer the clinics as opposed to the drive-thru option for children.

“There are some additional complexities dealing with the 5- to 11-year-old population,” she said. “Sometimes there’s fear of vaccine. We felt it would be better suited to bring those children into the clinic to have that service provided. So that’s why we’re bringing them into the health department. We are not offering child vaccine under the age of 12 at either of our drive-thru locations.”

To make an appointment for next week, people should call 618-825-4515 or visit the COVID-19 page on the health department’s website at https://www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/health-department.

For the week of Nov. 15, people should call 618-825-4447 to make an appointment or visit https://www.co.st-clair.il.us/departments/health-department to register.

“As we start to receive more vaccine in the community, we recommend that you reach out to your pediatricians to see what their clinic scheduling availability is,” Blandford said.

She also suggested people visit www.vaccines.gov and type in their ZIP code to find providers in their area.

Blandford also recommended hesitant individuals should visit www.cdc.gov, call the health department at 618-825-4447 or visit the Illinois Department of Public Health website at https://dph.illinois.gov/ for more information.

This story was originally published November 3, 2021 at 4:46 PM.