“You really don’t feel it,” Roosevelt said of the shot. “It doesn’t hurt at all.”
The Pfizer vaccine was granted emergency use authorization for children 12-15 on May 10.
Kellye Jackson said the family is looking forward to being able to travel again and see family members they haven’t been able to see during the pandemic.
“We’ve missed family vacations for the last year, so that’s one thing we’re really looking forward to is to be able to travel again,” said Kellye Jackson, who is also fully vaccinated.
Roosevelt said he has been hanging out with his friends and has been able to attend school inperson.
“I just want COVID to be over,” he said.
In Ohio, there are about 589,000 adolescents 12 to 15 years old, according to Kaiser Family Foundation.
Tina Schmitt, a nurse who is in charge of the vaccine clinic, said appointments filled up so quickly that the hospital expanded the hours of the clinic.
Schmitt said the teens she’s spoken with wanted to protect their parents and grandparents, as well as themselves.
She said that while cases of severe COVID-19 are rarer in children than adults, some children have become seriously ill. Getting a vaccine is also for the child’s safety as well.
Young adults are also spreading the disease faster than any other age group, Schmitt said.
“So by getting them vaccinated, it’s going to protect everyone, especially those at high risk,” she said.
The side effects for children of getting a COVID-19 vaccine are the same as for adults, Schmitt said, including fever and fatigue.
Schmitt said Dayton Children’s has already gone to some schools to get kids older than 16, who were previously eligible for the Pfizer vaccine, vaccinated against COVID-19. She said there are plans for more vaccine clinics at local high schools and middle schools.
Previously, the Dayton Daily News reported that children 12 to 15 years old were advised to be given vaccines spaced out at least two weeks from their other needed vaccines.
The American Academy of Pediatrics supports administering routine childhood and adolescent immunizations with COVID-19 vaccines (or vaccination in the days before or after) for children and adolescents who are behind on or due for immunizations and/or at increased risk from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Where to get a vaccine:
Dayton Children’s is offering the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine during regular COVID-19 vaccination clinics at their main and south campuses for any person 12 years old and older. Visit https://gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov/ to sign up.
The hospital is also offering clinics at individual schools. Visit https://www.childrensdayton.org/school-covid-19-vaccines to sign up.
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