Ruth Santiago squeezed her eyes shut and looked away as a syringe loaded with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine plunged into her right arm.
Did it hurt?
“At first,” Ruth said.
But that millisecond of pain was worth it for the seventh-grader at Philo-Hill Middle School. Her grandparents in Mexico got sick a few days ago, and Ruth is worried that they may have contracted the coronavirus. Helping to keep older folks, such as her grandparents, safe from COVID-19 convinced Ruth to be among the first in the 12-15 age group to get the Pfizer vaccine.
On Monday, the FDA approved the vaccine for use in this age group.
Around 3 p.m. Wednesday, an advisory panel within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave its approval, opening the way for millions of middle school students to get vaccinated.
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An hour later, Novant Health vaccinated a small group of kids, including Ruth, as a sort of test run, at its mass vaccination site at Hanes Mall.
Wake Forest Baptist Health said Wednesday that it will hold a first-dose clinic for the 12-15 group on Saturday at Winston-Salem State University’s Anderson Center, 1545 Reynolds Park Road. Adolescents should be accompanied by a parent, guardian or another adult.
“It’s for my good and everybody’s good,” said Ruth, 14.
Novant Health said it will be ready to vaccinate more kids in this age group on Thursday at 3 p.m. Walk-ins slots are available.
For its test run Wednesday, Novant found about 20 kids ready to get their first dose of the two-shot regimen. Most were children of Novant employees.
Jenny Macemore got emotional as she talked about the significance of having her son Noah, 14, get his first shot.
COVID-19 disrupted so much of their lives, keeping them from family and stripping her children, including Noah, from lots of cool experiences.
“I feel excited. I want more freedom for him,” Macemore said.
Noah, an eighth-grader at Calvary Day School, said the shot was a breeze compared to a COVID-19 test he recently took.
“My mom and doctor both wanted me to get it, so I thought, ‘Why not?’” Noah said. “I’ve got nothing against it.”
Dr. Ashley Perrott, a family physician with Novant Health, encouraged families with questions about the vaccine to talk to their children’s doctor. Though children don’t get infected as easily as older people, and they tend not to get as sick, anyone can get COVID-19, she said.
“The more people we vaccinate, the closer we are to herd immunity, and we can all feel safer,” Perrott said.
Tricia McManus, the superintendent of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, said Tuesday that the school district and Forsyth County Department of Public Health have been in talks about the school district being host to some vaccine clinics at its schools within the next few weeks.
The clinics would be for students and community members.
North Carolina law gives people under the age of 18 the ability to get a COVID-19 vaccine without parental consent. But McManus said no students under 18 would be vaccinated without parental consent at on-campus clinics.
County health director Joshua Swift said his department will have Pfizer vaccine available for those age groups beginning with its 4 to 8 p.m. vaccination clinic Thursday, along with 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Zach Hirata, 12, was one of the first to get the shot at Wednesday’s clinic at Hanes Mall. A sixth-grader at Ellis Middle School in Advance, Zach wants to get back to normal life, including taking Tae Kwon Do lessons in person.
“I want this period to be over with,” Zach said, “and for people to stop getting sick and dying from it.”