Advance Ordering for Pfizer Vaccine for Ages 5-11 Available Soon; Orders Due October 20

For a limited time, vaccine providers who plan to administer COVID-19 vaccines to children 5-11 years old, following proper authorization, can order vaccine with a minimum order of 300 doses.

Ordering will open soon, and must be submitted no later than noon on Wednesday, October 20. Doses can be shipped following authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, doses cannot be administered until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) makes a recommendation. 

Ohio’s goal is to ensure fair, equitable distribution across the state so that this important COVID-19 vaccine for younger Ohioans is available in all counties. At this time, Ohio’s statewide allocation from the federal government is unknown. Orders may require adjustment, as needed, based on federal allocation. Although the goal is to administer as many vaccines as possible to eligible Ohioans who choose to be vaccinated, the Ohio Department of Health recognizes that current vaccine supply, demand, and administration strategies may present an increased risk of vaccine wastage. The goal should always be to administer COVID-19 vaccines to those who choose to be vaccinated.

The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) is scheduled to meet on this topic on Tuesday, October 26, and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is scheduled to meet Tuesday-Wednesday, November 2-3. Providers should be ready to vaccinate children 5-11 years old shortly thereafter, pending FDA authorization and CDC recommendations.

• Ordering will open soon. Requesting an allocation by ordering as soon as possible is strongly encouraged. ODH anticipates orders must be submitted into the ImpactSIIS Vaccine Ordering Management System (VOMS) no later than noon on Wednesday, October 20. VOMS is open for providers to place orders 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. While it is highly recommended to plan to order early to ensure you are among the first to be able to provide the new pediatric formulation following authorization, there will also be future opportunities to order vaccine.
• Only plan to order if you anticipate administering pediatric vaccines. Not all providers are expected to administer vaccines to those ages 5-11.
• At this time, the minimum number of doses that can be ordered is 300. In future weeks, providers will be able to order in increments of 100 doses.
  • Your order quantity should include first doses only. You will be responsible for placing your own order for second doses in the coming weeks.
  • Smaller providers are encouraged to work with ODH to identify and form regional partnerships if needed to transfer vaccine in the early distribution phase. If you need assistance with the transfer process, please reach out to the ODH Provider Call Center at 1.844.9ODHVAX (1.844.963.4829), available between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, or email COVIDVACCINE@odh.ohio.gov.
  • Preliminary temperature storage information, pending FDA authorization, is as follows. The product will be delivered in a newly updated product shipper at minus 80⁰C. You do not need ultracold storage units to order this vaccine. If you do not have ultracold storage, plan to order only what you believe can be administered in the first 10 weeks following FDA authorization.

• The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 5-11-year-olds will be a new product configuration with:
  • New packaging
  • New preparation
  • A new national drug code (NDC)
• Preliminary information suggests the new pediatric formulation will:
  • Come in a vial with an orange cap
  • Have 10 micrograms (mcg) dosage (compared with the adult/adolescent formulation of 30 mcg)
  • Contain 10 doses per vial
  • Require dilution
• The current adult/adolescent formulation (with a purple cap) cannot be used to vaccinate children ages 5-11. The future pediatric (orange cap) formulation may only be used for children ages 5-11.