After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, Governor Kathy Hochul announced a vaccination incentive through the program: ‘Vaccinate, Educate, Graduate’.
Kathy Hochul indicated that parents or guardians of children who receive their first dose of vaccine before December 19 can enter the state incentive program.
Children will have the opportunity to win a full scholarship to any two- or four-year SUNY or CUNY college or university. The scholarship benefits include tuition, room, and board.
Under the schedule, ten winners will be announced each week beginning November 24, with a total of 50 winners selected over the five-week period.
“We have a plan that I’m announcing today. It’s called Vaccinate, Educate, Graduate. And what that means is, if someone has children in this age group, they won’t want to miss out. We’re going to allow people to get vaccinated and then become part of a group, and we will select 50 names of children who will receive a full trip to a SUNY or CUNY institution. Tuition, fees, room and board, “explained the governor.
This incentive from the state government means that parents will have extra money, reducing the savings that they normally prepare long before, for the professional future of their children.
“With all the resources available to us, there is no reason, there is no excuse not to vaccinate adults, vaccinate children and put this pandemic in the rearview mirror,” said Hochul.
The governor explained that they have more than 700,000 doses. Among those, 300,000 for New York City, more than 400,000 for New York State, and he hopes to be able to purchase a larger number of doses in the coming weeks.
Parents and guardians of children ages 5 to 11 who receive their first dose of vaccine before December 19 can participate in the random drawing via this link here
Parents, Guardians, and Communities are encouraged to visit the state website Ny.Gov/Vaxforkids ;
The official FDA website revealed that the authorization of the vaccine in children ages 5 to 11 was based on a thorough and transparent evaluation by the agency.
The data included input from experts from the independent advisory committee who voted strongly in favor of making the vaccine available to children in this age group.
Regarding the efficacy of the vaccine, the FDA indicates that: the immune responses of children between 5 and 11 years of age were comparable to those of people between 16 and 25 years of age. In that study, the vaccine was 90.7% effective in preventing COVID-19 in children ages 5 to 11.
Regarding the safety of the vaccine, the FDA indicates that: the safety of the vaccine was studied in approximately 3,100 children ages 5 to 11 who received the vaccine and no serious side effects have been detected in the study that is still ongoing.