For the first time, the Laredo Independent School District offered COVID-19 vaccines to students ages 5-11 on Friday.
LISD will administer the COVID-19 Pfizer pediatric vaccines at no cost to eligible LISD students.
Future COVID-19 clinics will continue through Friday, November 20. LISD plans to schedule additional clinics based on vaccine availability.
Pupils can get their vaccine at school in the presence of a parent/guardian.
Vanessa Salazar, the mother of a 5-year-old student at Mirabeau B. Lamar Middle School, attended and delighted to finally have her child vaccinated after the nearly two-year pandemic.
“I think we should all follow CDC guidelines. It is best for our children, our community and our country in general,” she said. “It’s important for all parents to really look at the data, listen to our doctors — not just in our community but in general, in our country — and see that it makes a difference. And the only way out Coming out of this pandemic is by following and taking all precautions, and the vaccine is one of them.
“We’ve been counting the days, we’ve been waiting for approval from the CDC or Dr. Fauci…and here we are on the first day the district does the vaccines.”
Salazar says she’s not worried about potential side effects or reactions, such as a low-grade fever or chills. She also encourages other parents to come and vaccinate their children so that everyone has peace of mind when they are in class.
LISD Health Services Director Graciela Lopez explained that the flu and COVID-19 vaccines can be administered simultaneously and will be available to children at upcoming vaccine clinics.
“It will have to be in a different arm,” she said of the flu vaccine. “We have our own system of how we’re going to do that, but the parents will have to be there for the Pfizer vaccine. But those students whose parents just opt for the flu vaccine, we’ll call them to remind them.”
Parents can transfer their eligible children to another school to get their vaccine in case they have another campus closer to them.
“If they can’t come to our locations, they take their kids to get the vaccine where it’s available,” Lopez said. “There are many sites in the city, keep an eye on social media, keep an eye on the news for more information about locations we will open.”
Many parents have anticipated this vaccine since the beginning of the school year and are calling LISD for updates and information. This increased in recent weeks after the FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine. The anticipation for this moment was clearly growing among the local community as the wait was finally over for many when their children received their first dose on Friday.
cecilia.trevino@lmtonline.com
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