'We Don't Anticipate Any Supply Issues': Massachusetts Pushes To Get Young Kids Vaccinated Against COVID
NEEDHAM (CBS) - "Today was the day I got my first vaccine shot," said Charlie Gangi, as he held up his COVID-19 vaccination card. So have hundreds of other 5 to 11-year-olds who've already gotten their shots at the Needham Vaccination Center. "Something that over the last couple of months, we've all been hoping for, so feels good to be out here today," said one mom.
Governor Charlie Baker hopes more will follow. "The pediatric doses are here and more will be coming," he said. "We don't anticipate any supply issues."
Baker held a news conference at Children's Hospital Thursday, where the staff planned to start pediatric vaccinations Friday. Dr. Frinny Polanco Walters spoke with urgency. "The death toll in the past year puts COVID-19 in the top 10 causes of death for the 5 to 11 age group," she said.
The governor promised easy access. There are already more than 500 places to get pediatric shots in Massachusetts he said, and the state's Acting Commissioner of Public Health Margret Cooke wants more.
"We've reached out to all of the schools in the commonwealth, and we've urged them to consider hosting vaccination clinics," she said. "We're also asking them to coordinate with their athletic departments."
State officials have also tapped several kid-friendly locations to host clinics across the state. The Museum of Science in Boston will start offering shots November 13th.
It's progress not only for children, say doctors, but for the whole family. "He's the last person in our family to get vaccinated," said Holliston mom Jessie Brauer. "We're ready to get back to doing regular life things."