Question: Does the Health Department have a plan for the COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11, if it is authorized as expected? Telling parents to call their pediatrician doesn’t seem like the most efficient way to do this.

Answer: Yes, the state Department of Health “is working with our partners to make vaccination available in many different venues including schools, pods, pharmacies and in health care providers’ offices,” said spokesman Brooks Baehr.

“If Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11 receive emergency-use authorization, they will be available at public, charter and private schools,” he said in an email Friday, estimating that more than 100 Hawaii schools would host on-campus vaccination clinics in that case.

He emphasized that the department is waiting for Federal Drug Administration authorization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations before plans are finalized.

You are one of multiple readers asking this question after Gov. David Ige said parents should look to their children’s pediatrician as the first source of COVID- 19 vaccine for this age group, which includes about 119,473 children in Hawaii. Readers said that approach would be less efficient than school-based vaccination clinics, and risks missing underserved populations who don’t have regular doctors. Ige said schools were being considered as vaccination sites, but cited challenges health officials later clarified have been overcome.

Parents who contacted Kokua Line said schools were a natural choice because they are convenient, and many campuses have experience hosting annual flu-shot clinics. Flu vaccination at school is voluntary and requires parental consent; COVID-19 shots would be the same. (Flu-shot clinics won’t occur at public schools this fall; see next question).

Baehr said the Health Department has been coordinating with the Department of Education, the Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission and the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools since July to “identify appropriate locations at public, charter and private schools based on a variety of factors.”

The Associated Press reported Friday the federal government will allow states to start ordering COVID-19 vaccine doses for the 5-to-11 age group on Wednesday; they won’t be delivered unless usage is authorized. The vaccine being reviewed for children ages 5 to 11 is a less potent version of the Pfizer vaccine authorized for people ages 12 and up. Decision-making is expected by early November.

“We’ve asked providers to work with schools over the next few weeks to confirm logistical requirements and to not plan any vaccination clinics until after final CDC guidance has been provided,” Baehr said.

Periodic mobile clinics on school campuses have been a popular option since the Pfizer vaccine was authorized for children 12 to 15 in May, about six months after it was authorized for people 16 and up.

Q: Will they give the flu shots at public schools this year? Usually we’ve heard about it by now.

A: No, Hawaii’s annual Stop Flu at School program was suspended this year, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less important for children to be vaccinated against influenza, Baehr said. Here’s his full response:

“Planning and preparation for the Stop Flu at School program is a year-round process. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the uncertainty regarding the status of in-person learning in Hawaii’s public schools, and Department of Health resource and staffing constraints, the decision was made in spring 2021 that the SFAS program would not be held this year.

“It is critically important that children 6 months and older receive the flu vaccine. Parents are strongly encouraged to have their children vaccinated by their health-care provider. Children without a health care provider may be able to be vaccinated at a pharmacy. Parents should contact the pharmacy to find out if their child may receive the flu vaccine at their location. Visit the Department of Health’s Vaccine Locator website at 808ne.ws/vaxloc.”

Note: That website is different from the one used to find out where people 12 and up can get the COVID- 19 vaccine, which is hawaiicovid19.com/vaccine/.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.