Vaccine help: Florida, under 3

[orthodoxjay1]

Greetings, good people. Cutting right to the point: child under 3 vaccinated for COVID (Moderna) in my home state (not Florida), but will be in FL when he needs his second dose (3-6 weeks after first does). Health Department says it's probably not possible as there are 'issues' in FL; FL pediatricians I've called say that for liability reasons child needs to be established patient who lives in FL; pharmacies I've called do not vaccinate under 3 (one pharmacist suggested it is illegal at present). No urgent cares I've called vaccinate. Cannot find any walk-in clinics that will vaccinate.

Edit: We will be near Tampa. Also, we actually need a second dose for an infant under 1. I should have been clearer, sorry!

Any suggestions? I'd really like my child to get his second dose within the recommended window. Thank you!

UPDATE: As /@paulpaul indicated, right now (July 6th) there is at least one place within driving distance of Tampa to get vaccines for infants: Lemon Bay Drugs East 3542 N Access Rd # A, Englewood, FL 34224 941-475-5636

 

[rob_roy]

@orthodoxjay1 It's recommended to wait longer between shots if you can to increase effectiveness. I'm waiting 8w.

 

[kdbeats_91]

@rob_roy Is there a link to something that talks about this?

 

[rob_roy]

@kdbeats_91 https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2022-06-17-18/04-COVID-Hall-508.pdf slides 10, 13, 14

 

[kenniel]

@rob_roy I'm tempted to do this, too, but with BA.4/5 my area is in a significant surge and even hospitalizations & deaths are ticking up. CDC guidelines recommend indoor masking again, but even among my co-workers who used to be pretty covid-cautious I'm the only one still masking at work. Daycare is still on board with mitigations, thankfully, but toddlers gotta take masks off to eat and sleep and, thanks to the wisdom of the USDA, they can't do mealtimes outside. So I'm going with second dose ASAP and hoping they make the omicron-specific booster available to kids on a more expedited timeframe.

 

[glojoy5434]

@orthodoxjay1 How far would you be from Georgia or Alabama? County-run vaccine clinics in those states or a minute clinic in Florida if your kid is over 18 months are probably your best bet.

 

[isabelle44]

@glojoy5434 Not OP but Tampa is about 5ish hours from Georgia

 

[lovesonsofthundet]

@orthodoxjay1 According to their website, some CVS Minute Clinics will vaccinate 18 months and up with Pfizer. I was going to set up an appointment last week for my son, but he’s had RSV so I’ve been waiting for him to get better so I haven’t spoken to one directly to confirm. Though, trying to get Moderna here in FL seems near impossible.

 

[ashley314]

@lovesonsofthundet My son just had his first shot at a CVS Minute Clinic and it was Moderna.

 

[lovesonsofthundet]

@ashley314 oh! Interesting because the website says they won't give Moderna to anybody under 18 years and the section for 18 months to 5 years says Pfizer only.

Hopefully my nearest minute clinic (an hour away) has Moderna, too!

 

[ashley314]

@lovesonsofthundet I read that too and expected him to get Pfizer but when we got there they had the Moderna and I was very pleasantly surprised.

 

[ashley314]

@orthodoxjay1 As far as I know that’s not accurate. If you have your child’s vaccine card with the info of their first shot, you should be able to get a second shot at a Florida CVS Minute Clinic. I just brought my 2yo son for his first shot the other day and they only asked for my ID/license and insurance card.

 

[lowebo]

@orthodoxjay1 Not sure if this is helpful, but I came across this post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/toddlers/comments/vpatc0/where_to_get_your_toddler_vaccinated_in_south

 

[lindalee1456]

@orthodoxjay1 I think the pharmacist was correct. Normally pharmacies in FL can't vaccinate under 7, but an executive order extended that to ages 3 and up. This is a pickle for sure! My only suggestion is to call the health department of the county you will be in and see if they offer it, or have any recommendations.

 

[orthodoxjay1]

We will be near Tampa. Thank you for your input so far!

 

[promisespromises]

@orthodoxjay1 Just a tip: pharmacists frequently administer shots incorrectly. This is a new privilege for them and many were not trained properly. Try to have a RN give the vaccine.

 

[orthodoxjay1]

@promisespromises Thanks for the advice.

 

[jay5911]

@promisespromises It depends on the state

 

[paulpaul]

@orthodoxjay1 I am in Tampa and have a 2 & 4 year old. I called every clinic or drs office that was doing COVID vaccines and was not able to find any that was doing Moderna for under 3’s. Minute clinic was only offering Pfizer.
I did find a little family run pharmacy that is giving out either Moderna or Pfizer to 6 month olds & up. I even got my second booster during our first visit.
It’s about an hour and 20 minutes from Tampa but it does have a great park down the street so my girls burned off some steam prior to the appointment. It it also right next to a gorgeous state park with beautiful trails so you could make it a day trip. You do need to make an appointment prior.
The clinic is:
Lemon Bay Drugs East
3542 N Access Rd # A, Englewood, FL 34224
941-475-5636
They were awesome and I have to say my girls did better there than they usually do getting shots!
One of the (many) reasons for this BS is that the pharmacists are not allowed to give the vaccines to children (According to this pharmacist). They had to hire a nurse.

 

[orthodoxjay1]

@paulpaul We made an appointment. Thank you so much for the information!