Children in the Naugatuck Valley began rolling up their sleeves for the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday.
Griffin Health sponsored its first COVID-19 vaccine clinic for kids ages 5 to 11.
The line outside Griffin Health in Naugatuck started forming 30 minutes before the doors opened.
“It’s very important for me to make sure my kids are safe,” said Brianah Martins.
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That’s because her children’s health impacts her own. Brianah was diagnosed with breast cancer right before the pandemic hit.
“That was difficult. I can’t even explain,” she said. “Knowing that we have the vaccine available, it’s something that changes a lot.”
Her 9-year-old son Christopher is the last one in the family to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“Since she has cancer I want to protect her,” said Christopher.
The clinic was limited to children ages 5 to 11, the newest group cleared by the FDA and CDC to get the Pfizer vaccine.
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“We do not do the adults and the children together for safety reasons. Little ones, you have to be very careful. Different dose, you don’t want a mix-up. There’s so many vaccines out there,” said Sandra Bartlett, a Griffin Hospital nurse. “Just like the adult vaccine, the children’s also requires two doses, with the second one recommended 21 days after the first."
“We’re really excited. This kind of marks the beginning of us feeling more comfortable,” said Terri of Seymour.
“I really like school and it wasn’t really easy to make friends,” said Vivian.
Her 7-year-old, Vivian, can’t wait to return to a real classroom. Her parents have kept her home throughout the pandemic because her father is immunocompromised.
“Our threshold for sending her back to in-person school has been vaccination,” Terri explained. “It means a lot. It feels like from here we finally calculate a date to go back to school.”
While Terri celebrated life getting back to normal, Brianah breathed a sigh of relief.
“I feel safe. I feel like at least I have some kind of security because of my health. I can protect myself and my kids,” she said.