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Approval of the Pfizer vaccine for children 5-11 is expected soon. Maine is preparing to administer doses quickly

FILE - In this June 6, 2021 file photo, a youth receives a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the central Israeli city of Rishon LeZion. The pharmaceuticals Pfizer and BioNTech say they have requested that their coronavirus vaccine be licensed for children aged 5 to 11 across the European Union. If authorized, it would be the first opportunity for younger children in Europe to be get immunized against COVID-19.
Sebastian Scheiner
/
AP
FILE - In this June 6, 2021 file photo, a youth receives a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the central Israeli city of Rishon LeZion. The pharmaceuticals Pfizer and BioNTech say they have requested that their coronavirus vaccine be licensed for children aged 5 to 11 across the European Union. If authorized, it would be the first opportunity for younger children in Europe to be get immunized against COVID-19.

Federal approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 is expected in early November, and public health officials in Maine say they're preparing to administer doses as quickly as possible.

"Our whole goal is to get as many of those children their first shots in early November so they can get their second shots in time to be fully vaccinated by that winter break around the holidays," said Jeanne Lambrew, commissioner of Maine's Department of Health and Human Services.

Lambrew says shots will be available at school-based clinics, pharmacies, doctors offices, and other locations.