D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC Health on Friday announced their plans to vaccinate kids 5 to 11 years old once the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approves the shots.
More than 60 hospitals, pharmacies and health centers will have 24,600 doses of the two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine once it’s green-lighted, Bowser’s office and DC Health said in a statement Friday.
Select CVS, Giant, Grubb’s, Safeway, Walgreens and Walmart locations will have vaccines, as will Children’s National at their primary care locations and their Mobile Unit.
Along with those spots, the District is setting up pop-up vaccination sites for kids in schools; the regular Take the Shot locations won’t all be open right away.
| Location | Address | Ward | 1st Dose Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bancroft Elementary School | 1755 Newton St NW | 1 | 11/9 |
| Marie Reed Elementary School | 2201 18th St NW | 1 | 11/12 |
| Edlavitch DCJCC | 1529 16th St, NW | 2 | 11/7 |
| Garrison Elementary School | 1200 S St NW | 2 | 11/17 |
| Thomson Elementary School | 1200 L St NW | 2 | 11/12 |
| Ben Murch Elementary School | 4810 36th St NW | 3 | 11/13 |
| Janney Elementary School | 4130 Albemarle St NW | 3 | 11/19 |
| Palisades Recreation Center | 5200 Sherier Pl NW | 3 | 11/16 |
| Center City Public Charter School – Brightwood Campus | 6008 Georgia Ave NW | 4 | 11/9 |
| Dorothy I. Height Elementary School | 1300 Allison St NW | 4 | 11/8 |
| E.L. Haynes PCS | 4501 Kansas Ave NW | 4 | 11/18 |
| Lafayette Elementary School | 5701 Broad Branch Rd NW | 4 | 11/19 |
| Whittier Elementary School | 6201 5th St NW | 4 | 11/20 |
| Bunker Hill Elementary School | 1401 Michigan Ave NE | 5 | 11/18 |
| Center City Public Charter School – Trinidad Campus | 1217 West Virginia Ave NE | 5 | 11/17 |
| DC Bilingual PCS | 33 Riggs Road NE | 5 | 11/20 |
| Noyes Elementary School | 2725 10th St NE | 5 | 11/8 |
| Kennedy Recreation Center | 1401 7th St NW | 6 | 11/10 |
| KIPP DC – Lead Academy PCS | 421 P St NW | 6 | 11/16 |
| Payne Elementary School | 1445 C St SE | 6 | 11/13 |
| Friendship Blow Pierce Elementary & Middle | 725 19th St. NE | 7 | 11/12 |
| Kimball Elementary School | 3375 Minnesota Ave SE | 7 | 11/9 |
| Plummer Elementary School | 4601 Texas Ave SE | 7 | 11/17 |
| Smothers Elementary School | 1300 44th St NE | 7 | 11/13 |
| Thomas Elementary School | 650 Anacostia Ave NE | 7 | 11/19 |
| Center City PCS: Congress Heights | 220 Highview Pl SE | 8 | 11/18 |
| Excel Academy Public School | 2501 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE | 8 | 11/16 |
| Ingenuity Prep Public Charter School/Statesman Academy | 4600 Livingston Rd SE | 8 | 11/8 |
| KIPP DC Heights Academy | 2600 Douglass Rd SE | 8 | 11/10 |
| Patterson Elementary School | 4399 South Capitol Terrace SW | 8 | 11/10 |
| Turner Elementary School | 3264 Stanton Rd SE | 8 | 11/20 |
Community groups who want to host a pop-up site can go to vaccineexchange.dc.gov to ask for one.
Again, all this is contingent on federal approval. And parents will need to be present at the sites with their kids.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer vaccine for children 5 to 11 earlier this week. On Nov. 2, the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will make its recommendation; after that, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky will need to give final approval.
In a call with the D.C. Council on Friday, Patrick Ashley, with D.C. Health, said the sites would initially be limited to those aged 5 to 11, but in the coming weeks that might change, depending on demand, where the city can offer additional availability for those 12 to 17, and perhaps adults as well.
“It was important to us to prioritize, making sure that we have the most availability for those that are” newly eligible, Ashley said.
Council member Charles Allen, who represents Ward 6, and Chairman Phil Mendelson both raised concerns over the distribution of vaccine sites across D.C.
“Every time we’ve had this happen with these sites, I feel like Southwest gets left out,” Allen said, asking if a site could be added to Southwest.
HSEMA Chief of Operations Clint Osborn said the sites currently listed are “just a partial schedule,” and “there are more scheduled behind the curtain.”
Mendelson cited vaccination data for younger D.C. residents. He said Ward 8 has the lowest fully vaccinated rate at 21%, while Ward 2 has 73%. “And I think that illustrates the point that we need to increase the availability of these sites.”
Ashley said more sites are coming and the list released Friday is a “snapshot.”
“I think it’s important to make sure that that we understand that there are 60 other sites in the community that provide access five to seven days a week,” he said.
Mendelson also said labor leaders have reached out and are concerned about the Nov. 1 vaccine deadline for public school workers.
“I’m just noting it here … that this is a concern, how we’re going to make sure that we ensure compliance with the vaccine requirement. But at the same time, we don’t increase strain on our schools because of a higher number of absenteeism,” Mendelson said.
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WTOP’s Will Vitka contributed to this report.
