As Charlotte kids get first COVID shots, this 6-year-old has a message: ‘You can do it’
For the first time in two years, 10-year-old Parker Hall will get to see his grandparents for Christmas.
“I’ve missed them,” he said. “I haven’t seen them in so long.”
They’ve had a lot of video calls over the last two years, he said. But this year, Hall and his family will travel to Ohio to visit his grandparents in person for the first time since 2019.
That’s because he got his first COVID-19 shot Thursday morning — he was one of the first kids in his age group to get the Pfizer COVID-19 shot in the Charlotte area.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky signed off on the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 through 11 late Tuesday morning. And most vaccine sites in Mecklenburg County rolled out the pediatric shots on Thursday.
Novant Health parents were some of the first in line to get shots for their children at the hospital system’s East Mecklenburg vaccine clinic Thursday morning. And 6-year-old Teddy Rivers was ready to do his part — he said he wanted to get the vaccine to protect other people.
“Because it keeps people safe,” he said.
For Teddy’s mom, Novant Health spokeswoman Megan Rivers, getting the vaccine was “a no-brainer.”
“COVID is still very much here and impacting healthcare workers and hospitals and our community,” Rivers said. “It’s still very real.”
The news that children ages 5 through 11 can get vaccinated against the coronavirus is a big win in the fight to slow the spread of COVID-19, Novant Health pediatrician Dr. Catherine Ohmstede told reporters Thursday.
“Today is one of the happiest days of this pandemic,” she said. “Today, 28 million additional American children have the opportunity to be protected from one of the top 10 leading causes of death in children in the United States.”
And now is the time to get kids vaccinated, Ohmstede said.
“If we can get our children vaccinated before the holidays start, that puts us in the best position to stay healthy as a community into 2022,” she said.
In North Carolina, children under the age of 18 have made up roughly 16% of COVID-19 cases since March 2020, according to state Department of Health and Human Services data.
And coronavirus cases in children have been increasing. In Mecklenburg County, for instance, children younger than 18 made up 27.6% of COVID-19 cases reported between Oct. 14 and 27.
Helping other kids
Some kids may be scared of getting the shot, Ohmestede said. But the needle is the same size as the yearly flu vaccine.
And the shot didn’t hurt, 6-year-old Teddy said. He and his mom practiced Wednesday night — it’s just like a little pinch, they said.
And Teddy had a message for other kids, who might be nervous about getting the shot.
“You can do it,” he said. “I believe in you. And good job.”
How to sign up your kids for a COVID shot in Meck
Novant Health
Make an appointment through Novant Health MyChart or GetVaccinated.org or by calling 855-648-2248
Atrium Health
Make an appointment at MyAtriumHealth or at AtriumHealth.org/COVID19Vaccine or by calling 704-468-8888.
Mecklenburg County Public Health
Make an appointment for vaccine clinic locations online or by calling 980-314-9400.
StarMed Healthcare
Make an appointment at starmed.care/vaccine or by calling 980-445-9818.
Other pharmacies and locations
To find other COVID-19 vaccine locations, visit Vaccines.gov to search by ZIP code.
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