Children in the Naugatuck Valley started rolling up their sleeves for the Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday.
Griffin Health sponsored its first Covid-19 vaccine clinic for children ages five to 11.
The line outside Griffin Health in Naugatuck started forming 30 minutes before the doors opened.
“It’s very important to me to make sure my kids are safe,” says Brianah Martins.
That’s because her children’s health affects her own health. Just before the pandemic hit, Brianah was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“That was hard. I can’t even explain it,” she said. “Knowing we have the vaccine available is something that changes a lot.”
Her nine-year-old son Christopher is the last in the family to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
“Because she has cancer, I want to protect her,” Christopher said.
Nine-year-old Christopher Martins is rolling up his sleeves for the Covid vaccine.
The clinic was limited to children ages five to 11, the latest group approved by the FDA and CDC to receive the Pfizer vaccine.
“For safety reasons, we don’t do the adults and the children together. Little ones, you have to be very careful. Different dose, you don’t want any confusion. There are so many vaccines,” said Sandra Bartlett, a nurse at Griffin Hospital. “Like the adult vaccine, the children also require two doses, with the second recommended 21 days after the first.”
“We are very excited. This kind of marks the beginning of us feeling more comfortable,” said Terri of Seymour.
Her seven-year-old Vivian can’t wait to get back to a real classroom. Her parents kept her at home during the pandemic because her father is immunocompromised.
“I really like school and it wasn’t really easy to make friends,” Vivian said.
“Our barrier to sending her back to personal school was vaccination,” Terri explained. “It means a lot. It feels like we’re finally calculating a date to go back to school from here.”
Seven-year-old Vivian sits on her mother Terri’s lap as she receives a Covid vaccine.
As Terri celebrated life returning to normal, Brianah breathed a sigh of relief.
“I feel safe. I feel like at least I have some sort of security because of my health. I can protect myself and my children,” she said.
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