MEDFORD, Oregon — For the first time, parents now have the option to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 at the Jackson County Expo Vaccination Site.
The vaccines are available for children from 5 to 11 years old.
“There are about 28 million children between the ages of 5 and 11 in the United States, 337,000 of them in Oregon,” said Jonathan Modie of the Oregon Health Authority.
Modie says parents who choose to have their children vaccinated are helping to stop the spread of COVID-19.
“[It’s] really important that these vaccines are made available to 5 to 11 year olds, it’s important to note that they can get sick and in Oregon we’ve had deaths among children in that age group.
He says the pediatric vaccine will not only help protect children from COVID — it will help the state fight the pandemic. “We know that the vaccines can build a level of immunity that could potentially spill over into protecting someone from a new variant,” he said.
While the pediatric vaccines are only offered locally, children in other parts of the state have already been vaccinated.
Modie says more than 74,000 children have been vaccinated so far, meaning nearly a quarter of children in the state have received their COVID injections.
“High volume vaccination sites in southern Oregon, central Oregon, eastern Oregon, the Portland metro area – we encourage people to go to those events that are free, they don’t need insurance, they can drive up , they can walk up and get a shot,” Modie said.
If you want to have your child or yourself vaccinated, the vaccination site at the expo can be found at Gate 1.5.
It is open Monday to Thursday from 12 – 6 and Sunday from 11 – 4.
Due to the holidays, the site will be closed from December 23 to 26.
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