BOISE, Idaho – Albertsons Cos., in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is pledging to support the nationwide effort to vaccinate children for COVID-19 through school clinics, following the FDA recommendation of Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11-years-old, the company said Thursday.

As one of the CDC’s largest retail partners in this effort, Albertsons Cos.’ 1,730 pharmacies will be directing their vaccine supply and pharmacy staff to thousands of school districts to ensure school clinics are ready to administer pediatric doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the 28 million children who are now eligible.

“We are committed to help provide children and their families quick, convenient and equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine and right now, that means working with the federal government to administer school-based vaccination sites across the country,” Omer Gajial, Albertsons Cos. SVP of Pharmacy and Health. “We know it is particularly important to offer vaccines in a setting that kids and their parents know and trust, and we’re proud to play a role in helping protect children against COVID-19 by supporting school-based vaccinations.”

The CDC calls COVID-19 vaccination one of the most efficient tools to help prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death and recommends all eligible Americans receive the vaccine, including the newly eligible 5–11-year-old age group.

Vaccine appointments for 5 to 11-year-olds will be available at select Albertsons Cos. pharmacies in coming weeks.

To date, Albertsons Cos. pharmacists have administered more than 8.2 million COVID-19 vaccines through its 1,730 pharmacies nationwide including those in Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, and Carrs stores.