Children as young as 6 months of age can begin getting vaccinated against COVID-19 on Tuesday, following signoff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health departments, providers, and pharmacies throughout the D.C. region have been preparing to deliver shots in the arms and legs of our youngest children. Local officials began administering vaccines to babies and toddlers on Tuesday.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for children as young as 6 months on Friday. That decision came after a committee of experts voted to recommend the shots during a public meeting on Wednesday.

Over the weekend, an advisory committee within the CDC recommended all children within the age group get vaccinated. One advisory member said COVID-19 is the fifth most common cause of death among children ages 1 to 4. CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky then quickly endorsed the recommendation.

Moderna is a two-dose vaccine for those between 6 months and 17 years old, administered one month apart. A third dose is authorized a month following the primary series for individuals who are immunocompromised. Pfizer is administered as a three-dose vaccine for those between the ages of 6 months and 4, with the first two doses administered three weeks apart and the third dose administered eight weeks after that.

The vaccination rates across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia appear to be comparable. According to the CDC, 81% of the population over 5 in D.C. and Maryland are at least fully vaccinated, while 79% of the population over 5 in Virginia are.

Care for a young child? Here’s what you need to know depending on where you live:

D.C. 

DC Health recommends all children between six months and four years old get vaccinated as soon as possible, preferably through their primary care physician. Roughly 6.4% of the D.C. population is under five years old.

Pediatricians, pharmacies, and DC Health are prepared to administer the vaccine to young children, Patrick Ashley, a senior DC Health official, told the D.C. Council on Friday. The city received the first shipment of Modena and Pfizer on Monday, and then the next shipment will arrive Thursday.

Parents and guardians should call their pediatrician or check pharmacy websites to book an appointment. Ashley warned that some pharmacies will not administer the vaccine to children younger than 3 due to federal requirements, so advised people to check the retailer’s website for age restrictions. He said he would work with the health department’s communications team to further publicize this information.

The health department’s COVID Centers, located in each ward, will administer the vaccine to all recommended ages. Supply will be limited at first, with centers receiving an initial shipment of 150 doses of Pfizer and 150 doses of Moderna, and then 60 doses of Pfizer and 140 doses of Moderna each day following.

During the Council call with DC Health on Friday, At-Large Councilmember Christinia Henderson asked for inventory updates at each center on the health department’s website, as is done for rapid tests and KN95 masks, which Ashley seemed to support. The schedules at each center vary, so check the website for details.

Providers at COVID Centers will only vaccinate the children of parents or guardians who provide proof of D.C. residency. Ashley says this could change once demand tapers off, but until then parents or guardians should bring an identification card or other proof of residency (like mail) with them to the centers.

“We will see what we saw for 5 to 11 year olds, where we see an incredible amount of interest, rightfully so, on the first couple days. … Then we will see that taper off,” Ashley told the Council. “We expect that Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday will probably be busy days, but we’ve got the staffing to be able to accommodate the COVID centers. And I know our private providers are also making plans to be able to cover that.”

“We just ask people to be patient. I know they have been patient for many, many years and that’s hard for me to say,” he added. “There will be enough vaccine very soon for everyone.”

Maryland

The Maryland Department of Health announced in a press release that vaccines began arriving for Marylanders six months and older on Monday. Outside of pharmacies and pediatricians, vaccine clinics can be found on their vaccine locator page along with the State Center Vaccination, Testing, and Treatment Site.

Officials from Prince George’s County anticipate a shipment of vaccines to arrive by June 23. There is no exact date for when those vaccines will be distributed to children, but George Lettis, Public Information Officer for the Prince George’s County Health Department said, “We expect appointments for this age to be available shortly after we receive vaccine. We encourage families to start asking their pediatricians about when they expect to open appointments, if not already.”

The vaccine should be available at pharmacies, pediatric offices, federally qualified health centers across the county, and other private health care providers. Lettis emphasized that the county’s health department would have vaccines available for patients six months to five years old, but highly encourages families to go to their pediatrician’s office since it’s a more familiar environment for children.

Meanwhile in Montgomery County, the jurisdiction’s website says only that officials y are planning for the arrival of vaccines, and that they will update with more specific information as it becomes available.

Virgina

The Virginia Department of Health agreed with the CDC decision. Vaccines are expected to become available to the littlest Virginians as early as June 21 or 22, according to the department’s website.

“We at VDH are pleased to begin offering this vaccine to parents who want to protect their youngest children from severe illness and hospitalization due to this virus,” said Christy Gray, the commonwealth’s vaccine coordinator, in a statement. “There are a variety of venues open to Virginia parents to vaccinate their children, including community vaccination events set up by local health departments, pharmacies and, of course, pediatrician’s offices. We urge parents to consult with their child’s healthcare provider about vaccination.”

The commonwealth has so far been allotted 48,000 Pfizer doses and 48,000 Moderna doses for the youngest children, according to a VDH spokesperson. Providers have requested more from the commonwealth than it was initially allotted, asking for 63,500 Pfizer doses and 39,400 Moderna doses. The shots are likely to be distributed to providers starting on Monday.

“Deliveries will be taking place throughout the week, wait times — if there are any — will be minimal,” per the VDH spokesperson.

VDH says young children will be able to be vaccinated at a wide variety of locations: at local health departments, healthcare providers, hospitals, federally qualified health centers, and pharmacies. The department expects most vaccines for the youngest age group to be distributed through pediatrician and family practice offices. There will be no state-run vaccination sites in Virginia.

As for which vaccine, Moderna or Pfizer, will be available — VDH left that up to the providers themselves. “All COVID-19 vaccine providers had the option to order one or both vaccine types and that decision was left open to each location,” the spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement.

On the local level, Fairfax County recommends that parents check with their child’s pediatrician first to see if they will have vaccines and vaccine appointments available. Once the vaccines for children under 5 are approved, they will be accessible at the county health department’s vaccine sites at Fairfax County Government Center and Fairfax County South County Hyland Center. No appointments will be needed for those sites.

The Fairfax health department notes that vaccines for young children may also be available at some pharmacies and grocery stores, but there are legal restrictions in Virginia that limit pharmacists from vaccinating children under 3. “You should call first to check availability and the age groups that could be vaccinated in these locations based on the provider available at each pharmacy,” the department recommended in a press release.

Loudoun County is also directing parents and guardians to find vaccines for their young children at pediatricians’ offices or at pharmacies, if the child is over three years old. The county will also offer vaccinations by appointment at a public health clinic in Leesburg for people who don’t manage to find

A spokesperson for Arlington County recommended that residents check back with the county’s landing page for future county-run clinics for vaccinating young children, once the approvals come down.

In Alexandria, the health department plans to hold vaccine clinics for young children, and will be opening up appointment slots this week. Check the city’s vaccine landing page for more information.

A search tool for finding vaccine locations across the commonwealth, including in the Northern Virginia region, is available here.

This post has been updated to include information that the D.C. region began vaccinating young children beginning Tuesday.