11-year-old Gilberto Talley after getting his first dose at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.Photo: Children’s National Hospital
A few hours after the Centers for Disease Controlofficially authorized Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in children aged 5 to 11 years old, high-risk kids in the Washington, D.C. area started getting their first doses.
The kids are some of the first in the world to receive the vaccine, outside of clinical trials, beginning the long-awaited process of inoculating the youngest age group so far against COVID-19.
An 8-year-old boy named Santiago was one of the first in line, and told reporters that the shot didn’t hurt,according to MSNBC.
“At least it’ll protect me from coronavirus,” he said, when asked if he was happy to get vaccinated.
8-year-old Carter Giglio after getting his first dose at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.Children’s National Hospital
6-year-old Daniel Debatt.Children’s National Hospital
Along with children’s hospitals like the one in D.C., parents can take their kids to get vaccinated at pediatrician’s offices, pharmacies and schools.
TheWhite House said that they have purchased enough vaccine dosesto inoculate the 28 million kids aged 5 to 11 years old in the U.S. Recent pollingfrom the Kaiser Family Foundationshowed some hesitancy among parents, however, with just three in ten saying that they would immediately vaccinate their 5- to 11-year-olds once the vaccine is approved. One-third of parents said they would wait to see how the vaccine is working, and the final third said they will not vaccinate their kids.
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On Wednesday, President Joe Biden urged parents to sign up their kids for the shot.
“Children make up one-quarter of the cases in this country. And while rare, children can get very sick from COVID-19. And some can end up hospitalized,” he said. “But they don’t have to. This vaccine is safe and effective, so get your children vaccinated to protect themselves, to protect others, and to stop the spread and to help us beat this pandemic.”
5-year-old Eva Vargas Seminetta.Children’s National Hospital
Biden emphasized that the more kids that get vaccinated, the easier it will be to “keep our schools open.”
“Keep our kids in the classroom. Learning, socializing with their classmates and teachers,” he said. “It matters. It matters not just in terms of their physical health but their mental health.”
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source: people.com
