Pima County rolls out COVID vaccines for patients under 5 years old

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tuesday was an important day for the Hunt family.

"It's such a relief," said mom, Angela Hunt.

Like many families with kids under the age of five, the Hunts have been waiting for COVID vaccines to become available.

"We were shocked just since no one knew how fast the shots would be developed," said Hunt.

On June 18, the CDC approved COVID vaccines for patients between the ages of six months and four years. The Pima County Health Department immediately began working to increase their supply.

"We expect a lot of these young kids will go to their primary care provider and so we may not see as many of them. We are expecting to see a fair bit of traffic at least for the first couple of weeks," said Pima County Health Department Vaccine Preventable Disease Program Manager, Crystal Rambaud.

Rambaud recommends getting your child vaccinated sooner than later. According to the CDC, babies and young kids require three doses of Pfizer and two doses of Moderna.

"Now is a really great time to get immunized because you'll be able to wrap up the whole series in a few weeks, which puts you in a good place for Summer vacations and for return to school, as well," said Rambaud.

Walk-ins are welcome at any Pima County Health Department clinic. All shots are free.

• Abrams Public Health Center - 3950 S. County Club Rd
• Theresa Lee Health Center - 1493 W Commerce Court
• North Clinic - 3550 N 1st Ave
• East Clinic- 6920 E Broadway Blvd

"I hope it means that people feel more protected and more confident taking their kids out and that they are safer in the community. Of course, we always hope that it has a good impact on our COVID rates but we will have to see," said Rambaud.