Valley City  (CCHD) This week, a decision is expected to be made on distributing the Pfizer vaccine for children 5-11 years old.

City County Health in Valley City reports that when a decision is made by the FDA, the local health district will decide on the distribution in schools in Barnes County.

State Immunization Manager Molly Howell, says North Dakota placed an order for 18,000 doses of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine, which will then be distributed to 214 health care facilities statewide.

The pediatric Pfizer vaccine for 5- to 11-year-olds has a lower dosage compared to the COVID-19 vaccine for people 12 and up — about one-third as strong. The pediatric Pfizer vaccine is two shots given three weeks apart. Clinical trial data among children ages 5 to 11, which was released by Pfizer, showed the pediatric vaccine had a 90.7% efficacy rate in preventing symptomatic COVID-19.