KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The city of Knoxville and Knox County will be holding several more free COVID-19 vaccine clinics in June as federal regulators appear poised to soon authorize Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5.
The Knox County Department of Health and Tennessee Department of Health will hose three COVID-19 vaccination clinics at the Knoxville Public Works Service Center at 3131 Morris Avenue. The next clinic will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on June 15, with two more clinics to follow on June 28 and 29.
The clinics are free and open to all. People under the age of 17 must be accompanied by a legal guardian. No appointments are necessary.
Federal health officials said Sunday that kid-sized doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines appear to be safe and effective for kids under 5, a key step toward a long-awaited decision to begin vaccinating the youngest American children. The FDA posted a similar analysis of Moderna’s shots for children under 6.
If regulators clear the shots by one or both companies, vaccinations could begin as soon as this week with the drugmakers ready to rapidly ship doses ordered by the government. Parents have been pressing federal officials for months for the opportunity to protect their smallest children as more adults shed masks and abandon other public health precautions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.