As a vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 could be days away, D.C. officials announced their plan for vaccinating an entirely new population of residents. D.C. health officials announced Friday that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will be available following the CDC’s expected approval. D.C. will receive 24,600 doses of the two-shot vaccine and will distribute the supply to over 60 health care centers in D.C. Next month, pop-up vaccination clinics at multiple locations throughout the District, as well as Children’s Hospital, will have dedicated sites for higher risk children. Patrick Ashley, a senior deputy director with D.C. Health, told the D.C. Council that parents or guardians must be present when a child’s shot is administered. More information can be found here. 

Much like the first go around with the vaccine for people 12 and older, expect delays in availability. Jennifer Kates, director of global health at the Kaiser Family Foundation, believes there will be early “disparities” in who can get vaccinated, especially in a city with the highest concentration of children of color.

“It’s going to take months to get vaccine coverage for 5- to 11-year-olds up to a level where we all can breathe a little easier,” Kates told the Washington Post.

Vaccine hesitancy among parents may be another hiccup. A Council hearing on a vaccine requirement in schools was met with both support and opposition. Many against the mandate said they support immunizations themselves but are hesitant to give their kids the vaccine right away.

Metro is (A Bit Less) Awful

Good news, everyone. WMATA announced Sunday that it has added seven more trains to its lineup. That means delays on the Green Line are going from 30 to 40 minutes down to 20 minutes. 

The addition brings the total number of trains in service up to 39 as the Metro outages continue until at least Nov. 15. WMATA has been investigating its 7000-series railcars after one derailed in October—axing 60 percent of its fleet. WMATA has not announced how it plans to bring the 7000-series trains back into service.

Marijuana (Still) Makes a Good Gift

The D.C. Council won’t consider an emergency measure this week meant to dispense a legal loophole that allows marijuana to be gifted away. The original bill, introduced by Chairman Phil Mendelson, would have ramped up enforcement of D.C.’s so-called marijuana gray market. But in a last-minute change, the chairman removed language that would have increased enforcement of businesses gifting marijuana.

D.C. law does not allow marijuana to be sold, but it can be given away. Businesses have used this loophole to sell a pencil for $50 and include a gift of marijuana.

The current iteration of the bill extends the validity of expired medical marijuana cards until 2022 and authorizes cards that are valid for two years instead of one.

—Bailey Vogt (tips? bvogt@washingtoncitypaper.com)

• To see today’s COVID-19 data, visit our coronavirus tracker.
• A woman rescued from an apartment fire in Southeast died of her injuries. The cause of the blaze is under investigation. [WTOP]
• Vandals destroyed Jewish texts in a George Washington University fraternity house that was broken into Sunday. [WTOP]

By Ambar Castillo and Bailey Vogt (tips? acastillo@washingtoncitypaper.com and bvogt@washingtoncitypaper.com)