Your questions, answered "My children (ages 9 and 11) just received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine today! We are thrilled that we were able to sign them up so quickly! However, the vaccine clinic is not scheduling shots during the Thanksgiving holiday, so their second does will be 4 weeks from now, instead of the recommended 3 weeks. Should I find an alternate provider to schedule their 2nd dose at exactly 3 weeks?" – Caroline in Colorado Covid-19 children's vaccines are here. Lots of parents like you are following the advice of health experts and getting your kids the shots right away. This is key for protecting youngsters and adults alike. Scheduling two shots three weeks apart can be tough, especially if you've got more than one child who needs to be immunized. The holidays are coming up, and the pediatric doses are still limited at some vaccination sites. Fortunately, you've got some wiggle room. Three weeks is the recommended interval between the children's shots, but health officials and experts say it's okay to get the doses four, five or even six weeks apart. Kids can also get their second shots up to four days early. "The main reason we ideally want parents to schedule for the 21 days between doses is to be able to achieve full protection the fastest," Melissa Stockwell, chief of the division of child and adolescent health at Columbia University, told me this week. "However, if parents are having trouble scheduling the second dose, they should just schedule it as close as they can to that interval after the date it is due," Stockwell said. There's not much data on vaccine effectiveness for patients who got their second dose after the six-week mark. To ensure your child is well protected, it's important to get the shot before then. But you don't have to restart the series if you end up waiting more than six weeks between doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If logistics are a concern, Stockwell noted that it was fine to seek out doses at different places. "Parents don't necessarily have to get the second dose at the same pharmacy or other vaccine location," she said. She also offered another important reminder: Don't forget to bring your kid's vaccine card, regardless of when they got their first dose. | 
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