Dr. Neal Smoller, pharmacist and owner of Village Apothecary in Woodstock, is gearing up to get children vaccinated against COVID-19 in anticipation of CDC approval of the Pfizer vaccine for children as young as five.
“We’re expecting the inventory in pretty soon. We’ve been advertising an interest list for about a week. The demand is kind of low. We have maybe 150 families,” Smoller said on November 1. He estimates that to be about 200 children. The dose for younger children is only 10 micrograms while the dose for those 12 and up is 30 micrograms.
Smoller said the low demand is fine by him because he can concentrate on helping those parents who are nervous about their children. “After that, kids are best served by going to their pediatrician for this,” Smoller said, stressing the importance of developing a relationship with their doctor.
Smoller said he considered having big clinics and dressing up as superheroes, but it is ultimately more important for young children to get treated by someone they know and trust like their pediatrician.
Smoller is considering one clinic in Woodstock and maybe another in Saugerties depending on demand. He’s expecting the clinics to be scheduled between November 3 and November 9.
The second dose will be scheduled three weeks later, he said.
After that, Smoller is essentially done with any big vaccine pushes for COVID-19, except for some Dutchess County high schools that need help.
“It’s been fun, but we’re exceptionally tired,” Smoller said recently.
The signup for the children’s vaccine is at drneal.co/kids.
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