Page updated July 5, 2022
Illness caused by COVID-19 has been on the rise in the pediatric population. C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and the Michigan Medicine Safety & Efficacy Task Force join the CDC and FDA in recommending vaccination for individuals ages 6 months and older.
COVID-19 Vaccines for Children and Adolescents
The FDA has authorized emergency use of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines in children as young as 6 months of age. U-M Health is working to update our vaccine clinic procedures to reflect the CDC’s new recommendations for children age 6 months to 4 years. Vaccine appointment scheduling for children from 6 months through 4 years of age will open on the MyUofMHealth patient portal on Friday, July 8. Additional updates regarding availability and frequently asked questions about vaccines for children will be added to this website as they become available.
University of Michigan Health is offering vaccination to children ages 5 and older at our COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics, by appointment only.
Information about scheduling your child’s COVID-19 vaccine is available in the below FAQ.
Vaccine Booster Shots and Third Vaccine Doses
The FDA has expanded emergency use authorization for individuals aged 5 or older who received their second dose of Pfizer vaccine more than 5 months ago to receive a booster. Boosters for pediatric patients can be scheduled using the MyUofMHealth patient portal or by phone.
For more about vaccine booster shots and third-dose vaccines, visit our COVID-19 Vaccine FAQ page.
Questions and Answers for Parents About the COVID-19 Vaccine and Your Child
Anyone age 6 months and older is now eligible to receive the Pfizer or MOderna COVID-19 vaccine. Children ages 6 months to 11 receive a smaller dose than children ages 12 and up.
Your child (or anyone, regardless of age) cannot get the vaccine if any of the following statements is true:
- They have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last 10 days
- They have received an infusion of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies in the past 90 days
- They are allergic to any ingredient in the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. A list of the ingredients in the Pfizer vaccine is available on our COVID-19 Vaccine FAQ page on UofMHealth.org under "About the COVID-19 Vaccines".
If your child has a history of allergies, they will be observed for a longer period of time after their injection (at least 30 minutes) by medical personnel onsite and should report any symptoms to the charge nurse during the observation period. Medical staff at all locations are equipped with anaphylaxis kits and supplies to quickly treat anyone experiencing an allergic reaction to the vaccine.
Visit our COVID-19 Vaccine FAQ page on UofMHealth.org for more information about vaccine restrictions and special considerations.
University of Michigan Health is offering COVID-19 vaccination at our COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics at Brighton Health Center, Northville Health Center and our North Campus Research Complex (Building 200) in Ann Arbor.
Appointments are required, and the location of your appointment will be noted when you are scheduling your appointment. Visit the Your Vaccination Appointment page on UofMHealth.org for additional information and maps for our COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic locations.
COVID-19 vaccines are also available through a wide range of retail pharmacies throughout your communities.
How can I schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment with University of Michigan Health for myself or my child?
COVID-19 vaccines are administered by appointment only at our COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics. No walk-up vaccine clinics are currently scheduled.
The easiest way to schedule your child’s vaccine is online, using our MyUofMHealth patient portal.
Due to expected high demand, callers may experience long wait times. We strongly recommend using the patient portal to schedule your child’s vaccine online. If you are unable to use the patient portal to schedule an appointment, please call our COVID-19 Vaccine Scheduling Center at 734-763-6336. Please do not call any of our primary care or specialty clinics to schedule a vaccine appointment.
Vaccines for children ages 12 and up use a different dose than what is used for children ages 5-11, and are scheduled through our adult COVID-19 vaccine clinics. Click here for information about our general COVID-19 vaccine clinic scheduling.
COVID-19 vaccines are also available through a wide range of retail pharmacies throughout your communities.
Proxy access for a minor patient is available to parents or legal guardians.
- Visit our portal proxy access FAQ page.
- View a brochure about portal proxy access for children.
- Complete a proxy access request form. The child’s MRN is required to complete this form.
If your child does not have an MRN, call our patient registration team at 734-936-4990 to set one up.
We are committed to making COVID-19 vaccination as accessible as possible for our patients. We are also committed to ensuring vaccines are administered under strict safety protocols, as well as ensuring we are able to continue meeting the health care needs of all of our patients at their primary care clinic.
In some cases, a COVID-19 vaccine may be offered to patients ages 5-11 who are being seen for scheduled appointments at select pediatric primary care clinics or at the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital facility in Ann Arbor.
COVID-19 vaccine availability at our primary care clinics or at the hospital is subject to vaccine supply and staffing availability and cannot be guaranteed. Please do not contact our pediatric primary care clinics to schedule an appointment for the specific purpose of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. At this time, we cannot schedule appointments specifically for COVID-19 vaccine appointments at any of our primary care clinics or at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, nor can we accommodate walk-in appointments at these locations.
Parents wishing to schedule an appointment specifically for a COVID-19 vaccine should schedule one at our established COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics at Brighton Health Center, Northville Health Center, or the North Campus Research Complex (Building 200) in Ann Arbor.
Help them understand why the vaccine is important and what to expect at their appointment. Read more on 5 ways to prepare your child for the COVID vaccine, tips from a child life specialist.
A parent or guardian must provide consent for a patient under the age of 18 to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. If the parent or guardian cannot accompany the patient to their appointment, written consent can be provided. The written consent should be signed and dated by the patient’s parent or guardian and should include the following statement, “As the parent/legal guardian, I give my consent for (patient’s name) to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine.”
Patients scheduled for a vaccine appointment should be accompanied by no more than one other person, in order to help us maintain social distancing at our vaccine clinics.
Please note that our visitor policy applies to all vaccine appointments. View our most recent visitor policy.
Visit our “Your Vaccination Appointment” page for more information about what to expect at your Michigan Medicine COVID-19 vaccine appointment.
Our visitor policy applies to all vaccine appointments and only allows for one person to accompany your child at their appointment. View our most recent visitor policy.
In particular, please note that anyone entering the vaccination site, including parents and guardians, will need to complete our COVID screening at or before entering. No one who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 10 days will be permitted to enter.
There is no out-of-pocket cost to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The federal government is providing the vaccine itself at no cost to patients.
There is a vaccine administration fee for supplies, facilities, staffing and other expenses that will be covered in full by your insurance company, Medicaid, Medicare, or the federal government if you do not have insurance.
In the vaccine clinical trials, most people did not have serious problems after being vaccinated, and symptoms usually went away on their own within a week. More people experienced these side effects after getting the second dose than the first one.
Common side effects that have been reported with available COVID-19 vaccines include:
- injection site pain, swelling, or redness
- muscle pain
- joint pain
- feeling unwell
- swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy)
Side effects of individual COVID-19 vaccines may vary. You can find more information about what to expect after getting vaccinated on the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/expect/after.html
For most kids, the vaccine will have no effect on their heart. But health officials are monitoring very rare occurrences of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining outside the heart) after vaccination. It’s important to note that while also rare, a COVID-19 infection is more likely to trigger heart inflammation than a vaccine. Read more: 11 things to know about COVID vaccines and kids’ hearts.
More Vaccine Information
For more information about COVID-19 vaccines and availability, visit our COVID-19 Vaccine Information and Update page on UofMHealth.org.
COVID Vaccines for Kids Under 5
The Federal Drug Administration has authorized both the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for children ages six months up to five years, paving the way for an estimated 18 million children to get their first COVID-19 vaccination this summer. Moderna’s vaccine for kids ages six to 17 was also authorized.
On June 23, 2022, Michigan Medicine experts answered parents’ top questions about the vaccines, as well as overall questions about the current status of the COVID pandemic and what people should know. Panelists included Debra Langlois, M.D., a pediatrician at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Sandro Cinti, M.D., infectious diseases specialist, and Pam Rockwell, D.O., a family medicine physician.
Topics addressed include side effects, boosters, variants’ impact on vaccines and what parents should consider when weighing the decision about whether to vaccinate their children.
COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids: Q&A – Part I
A pediatric infectious diseases specialist, a pediatric pulmonary (lung) specialist, and a pediatrician – answer parents’ top questions about vaccinations for kids. The livestream held on September 17, 2021 addressed concerns and misconceptions about vaccine side effects and allergic reactions, the vaccine causing myocarditis and issues with fertility or menstruation, and much more. To view the full list of questions, please reference the full video description on YouTube. It includes timestamped links to direct you to specific questions and answers discussed throughout the livestream.
COVID-19 Vaccines for Kids: Q&A – Part II
Upon receiving the initial data release of the COVID vaccine clinical study conducted on children aged 5-11, our medical experts – a pediatric infectious diseases specialist, a pediatric cardiologist and a pediatric hospitalist – assembled for another livestream on October 29, 2021. This time addressing how the vaccine safety and efficacy was tested in kids 5-11, how families can weigh risks versus benefits, and more.