The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the Pfizer vaccine for those 12 years and older. We understand that many of you have questions regarding the vaccine, its safety, and how to secure a vaccine for your child.

At this time, our office will not be carrying any of the COVID-19 vaccines. All children who live in Connecticut and are under the age of 19 receive their vaccines as part of the Connecticut Vaccine Program, which is a state and federally funded program that provides vaccines to all children at no cost. Vaccines are allocated to our office and not currently available for private purchase. If at any time our office is provided vaccines to dispense, we will update our Facebook page and our website to make our patients aware. Please follow us on Facebook for all up-to-date announcements.

Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine to prevent COVID-19 for people 12 years and older, while the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for children 18 and older. There are no approved vaccines for children under 12, however trials are ongoing. Overall, these vaccines have been shown to be safe.

If you have questions regarding your child receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, we ask that you schedule a telemedicine visit with your doctor to discuss individual questions.

While we are currently not carrying any of the COVID-19 vaccines, we will update the following list as more vaccination sites have Pfizer vaccines available for those 12 years and older:

Updated as of 5/19/21:

1. Yale Locations

https://www.ynhhs.org/patient-care/covid-19/vaccine/get-your-covid-vaccine.aspx

2. North Haven Pharmacy: 203-239-2086

3. CVS Pharmacy New Haven

https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine?WT.ac=cvs-storelocator-covid-vaccine-searchpilot

4. Walgreens Pharmacy Hamden: 203-288-5217

5. Stop and Shop Pharmacy Wallingford: 203- 265-3942

For those 18 years and older:

1. Yale locations

https://www.ynhhs.org/patient-care/covid-19/vaccine/get-your-covid-vaccine.aspx

2. CVS locations

https://www.cvs.com/vaccine/intake/store/covid-screener/covid-qns

3. Chesprocott Health District (Cheshire, CT)

https://covidvaccinefinder.ct.gov/vams/34

4. Gaylord Specialty Healthcare (Wallingford, CT)

https://covidvaccinefinder.ct.gov/vams/21

5. Quinnipiac Valley Health District Clinic (North Haven, CT)

https://covidvaccinefinder.ct.gov/vams/55

6. ShopRite Pharmacy (Hamden, CT)

https://shoprite.reportsonline.com/shopritesched1/program/Imm/Patient/Advisory

7. Stop and Shop Pharmacy locations

https://stopandshop.com/pages/ss-pharmacy

8. Big Y Pharmacy locations

https://www.bigy.com/Pharmacy/covid19-vaccine-faq

9. Walgreens Pharmacy location

https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19/location-screening

For more information on the vaccine, please refer to the CDC or the following resources:

Information regarding the mRNA based vaccines: Moderna and Pfizer

https://discoveries.childrenshospital.org/covid-19-vaccines-differences/? _ga=2.100176600.797640883.1615906940-597001543.1615906940

Information regarding the Johnson & Johnson vaccine:

https://answers.childrenshospital.org/jj-covid-19-vaccine/

Information from Yale’s Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist, Dr. Thomas Murray

https://www.ynhhs.org/patient-care/covid-19/vaccine/kids-and-the-vaccine.aspx

We thank all of our patients and families for the tremendous efforts they have taken to continue to keep themselves and their communities safe. Please remember to keep washing your hands, maintaining social distancing, and wearing your mask (along with a smile!).

Sincerely,

The Doctors of Hamden Pediatrics

Lisa Visscher, MD

Dena Springer, MD

Rachel Boyarsky, MD

Alicia Antman, MD