Parents seeking early COVID vaccines for kids under 5 strike out as NYC websites lag

New York parents seeking the COVID-19 vaccine for their infants and toddlers have had little luck so far.

Despite the federal government authorizing the vaccines for children ages 6 months to 5 years old over the weekend, supplies of the Pfizer and Moderna shots have yet to be delivered, according to interviews with a half dozen pediatricians, pharmacies and clinics.

City officials had vowed last week that the COVID-19 Vaccine Finder website would be updated “beginning on June 21 … to find convenient locations across the five boroughs to vaccinate young children.” Appointments for 10 city-run sites were expected to open Tuesday under this pledge.

But no appointments for the pediatric shots, which carry a smaller dosage than the adult version, had emerged on the NYC Vaccine Finder website as of Tuesday afternoon. Mayor Eric Adam’s original promise called for the “tots for shots” program to open as early as Wednesday. The mayor’s office told Gothamist it plans to open up city-run appointments by 9 p.m. Tuesday night.

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