MARSHALL — Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday health care providers and others will begin vaccinating 5- to 11-year-old children this week, now that the Pfizer coronavirus shot has received federal approval.

The vaccine will arrive in waves this week and Minnesota providers have ordered as many doses as possible from the federal government, Walz said.

More than 500,000 children across Minnesota are now eligible for the vaccine.

“Getting our children vaccinated will help our kids be kids again,” said Walz said. “Now that the vaccine is approved for kids ages 5-11, Minnesota is ready to administer these shots quickly, efficiently, and equitably. I encourage families to make a plan to get their child vaccinated and help keep them safe.”

In a Wednesday news release, Gov. Walz’s office said the state has also launched a new web page, mn.gov/vaxforkids, to help parents and guardians answer questions they may have about the vaccine.

Area health care providers and some area pharmacies say they plan to start making COVID-19 vaccines available for children.

The Sanford Health system said it will have COVID vaccines for children ages 5 and older starting this week, and the Avera Health system said it will be taking vaccination appointments for children ages 5 to 11. Hy-Vee also announced Wednesday that select pharmacy locations will have pediatric COVID vaccines available by appointment.

Sandy Murphy, pharmacist at GuidePoint in Marshall, said Wednesday that their pharmacy is still figuring out if they will be offering pediatric COVID-19 vaccines.

“The 5- to 11-year-old vaccine is different than for 12 and up,” Murphy said. “It’s packaged differently, it’s a lower dose, and you can’t use the higher dose for the kids.”

Murphy recommended people use the state’s vaccine finder website, or contact their pharmacy or health care provider to find out if they have COVID vaccine available for children.

This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) authorized use of the Pfizer COVID vaccine for children ages 5-11. The Pfizer vaccine for children is a two-dose vaccine, with doses given 21 days apart. Children receive a smaller dose of the vaccine — just one-third of the dose given to adults.

“This approval is an important step in protecting our entire population from COVID-19,” said Dr. David Basel, vice president for Avera Medical Group Quality, and an internal medicine/pediatric specialist.

“Young children can and do experience serious illness due to COVID. With the Delta variant we have seen children as young as 1 be diagnosed or admitted to the hospital with COVID-19,” Basel said. “We’re also seeing children with long-haul symptoms, even after milder infection.”

In many children, COVID-19 is very much like a cold or the flu. “But it can be much more serious. Those serious cases and potential deaths are what we’re trying to prevent with the vaccine,” Basel said.

On Wednesday, the Sanford Health system announced that its primary care locations will begin scheduling and administering COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 5-11 starting on Thursday. Appointment availability will depend on the amount of vaccine allocated to each clinic.

“Having the vaccine available for this age group is a game-changer,” said Dr. Santiago Lopez, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls. “This vaccine continues to be proven to be the safest and most effective tool to fight this virus. The most recent variant of the COVID-19 virus has been targeting more children than previous variants. Now with a vaccine available, we have a significant tool to help keep these elementary-age kids healthy and in school. The vaccine is very good at preventing COVID-19 infections, excellent at preventing severe COVID-19 disease and outstanding at preventing COVID-19 deaths.”

Carol Biren, public health director at Southwest Health and Human Services said area public health services aren’t planning to do COVID vaccinations for children. However, there are resources available for parents to find vaccine locations in the area. A list of available locations can be found online at Southwest Health and Human Services’ website, www.swmhhs.com. Other resources on COVID-19 vaccines include vaccines.gov, and the state of Minnesota’s vaccine locator website, https://mn.gov/covid19/vaccine/find-vaccine/locations/index.jsp.

On Wednesday, the state COVID-19 vaccine finder listed several locations in the Marshall region as offering vaccines for children ages 5-11. The locations included the Thrifty White, Hy-Vee and Walmart pharmacies in Marshall, Sanford Health in Canby, CCM Health and Thrifty White Pharmacy in Montevideo, Thrifty White Pharmacy in Granite Falls, Walmart Pharmacy in Redwood Falls, Thrifty White Pharmacy in Slayton, Pipestone County Medical Center, and Thrifty White Pharmacy in Westbrook.

All the listed providers in the Marshall region required appointments and parental consent for vaccination of children ages 5-11.

Murphy said area residents should try checking back with the vaccine finder, as the site is updated regularly with vaccine availability information.

In Minnesota, providers can also offer booster shots to Minnesotans who are eligible and have previously received any of the three authorized COVID-19 vaccines — including the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, all Minnesotans age 18 and older who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should get a booster shot at least two months after their first dose.

Minnesotans who got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines and are age 65 or older, live in a long-term care facility, are at high risk for severe COVID-19 because of underlying medical conditions, or are at high risk because of where they live or work, can also get booster shots. You should wait at least six months after your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccine before getting a booster, the MDH said.