Kids ages 5 to 11 can get COVID vaccines in Lexington this week. What to know.

UK HealthCare is opening a large-scale vaccination clinic for children ages 5 to 11 in Lexington starting Tuesday, Nov. 9.

Fayette County Public School will also partner with Wild Health, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department, and HealthFirst Bluegrass to offer free vaccination clinics in several locations in Lexington from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 10. A second round will follow on Wednesday, Dec. 1. A parent or guardian must be present with a child between the ages of 5 and 11.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed vaccines for that age group on Nov. 2.

Depending on the availability of vaccine doses and staff, the UK clinic is expected to be able to accommodate about 2,100 patients per week.

“Only Pfizer has emergency authorized use for children ages 5 to 11, so that is what we’re administering at this clinic,” UK spokeswoman Hilary Brown told the Herald-Leader Friday. Children in that age group will need their second dose 21 days after the first dose, she said.

“In the US, there are 28 million children under the age of 11 and have been among those severely affected by the delta variant of this virus,” Lindsey Ragsdale, M.D., Interim Chief Medical Officer at Kentucky Children’s Hospital said in a Friday announcement. “Building on the success of the Kroger Field site, we have the resources to quickly set up a large-scale family-friendly operation to give Kentucky’s children the protection they need.”

The UK clinic will be located on the first floor of the UK HealthCare outpatient facility at 245 Fountain Court. Hours of operation are expected to be from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

To help children who may be afraid of needles or are nervous in clinical settings, the clinic will feature a sticker chart for younger patients to mark their progress throughout the clinic, coping and distraction items in the injection and waiting areas, and a desensitization room for patients with developmental or sensory needs.

The clinic will provide educational information for parents and caregivers about what to expect on vaccination day.

“Vaccinations can be stressful for some children,” Jennifer Guilliams, coordinator of Kentucky Children’s Hospital Child Life program said in a news release. “Our goal was to create an environment that is not only calm but has an element of playfulness to help keep kids engaged and focused.”

UK HealthCare will provide education and training for pharmacists and other clinic staff who don’t normally work with children on how best interact with pediatric patients.

Kentucky Children’s Hospital has seen an increase in children admitted for severe COVID-19 as well as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a serious complication associated with COVID-19.

Kentucky is ranked number one in the country for childhood obesity, and obesity is one of the biggest risk factors in severe COVID-19, officials said.

Kentucky’s Department for Public Health reported on Thursday 414 new COVID-19 cases in children 18 and under and a total of 50,989 cases for children 0 to 9 and 102, 177 cases for the 10 to 19 age group. Two children 0 to 9 have died of COVID-19 in Kentucky since the pandemic began and four in the 10 to 19 age group, the state’s daily COVID report showed.

The two-shot COVID vaccine has been shown to be highly effective at preventing hospitalization and death, officials said.

Parents and legal guardians can register their children at ukvaccine.org.

People who registered prior to Nov. 1, 2021, will need to re-register in order to receive an invitation. An email invitation to schedule a vaccination may be delayed by several days depending on available appointments.

From 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, through Wild Health, Fayette County Public Schools will offer vaccines for children, adolescents, and adults at Athens-Chilesburg Elementary, 930 Jouett Creek Drive; Coventry Oak Elementary, 2441 Huntly Place; Tates Creek Elementary, 1111 Centre Parkway, and Wellington Elementary, 3280 Keithshire Way.

Vaccines will be available for children ages 5 to 11 only at the following locations:

▪ Cardinal Valley Elementary, 218 Mandalay Road -- register at (859) 288-2425

▪ Mary Todd Elementary, 551 Parkside Drive -- register at (859) 288-2425

▪ William Wells Brown Elementary, 555 E. 5th Street -- register at (859) 288-2425

▪ Consolidated Baptist Church, 1625 Russell Cave Road -- register at (859) 252-2371

This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 1:42 PM.