Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced the launch of the #VaxForKids campaign in an effort to get children ages 5 and up vaccinated across New York.

The #VaxForKids campaign will establish 80 pop-up vaccination sites across New York over the period of six weeks and has already launched 10 pop-up sites this week.

“Getting our children vaccinated is the best way to keep them healthy and out of the hospital,” Governor Hochul said. “Our #VaxforKids campaign builds on our ongoing efforts to bring the safe, free and available vaccine directly to New York families, and make sure parents and guardians have all of the trustworthy and doctor-endorsed informational resources they need. Over 1.5 million kids are already vaccinated in New York State, and I encourage parents and guardians to get their children vaccinated and boosted when they’re eligible as soon as possible.”

Currently, over 1.5 million children ages 5 to 11 have been vaccinated but only 34.3% of children ages 5 to 11 have received at least one dose and 23.9% of children ages 5 to 11 have completed their initial vaccine series.

“I urge New York parents and guardians to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible,” said Acting State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. “We continue to see increased rates in pediatric infections and hospitalizations, and vaccination is simply the best way to protect them. For decades, vaccines – one of the greatest public health success stories – have kept our children safe from dangerous infections, and the COVID-19 vaccine is doing the same.

A list of the pop-up vaccination sites can be found on the New York State website.