LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — One week after the federal government authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in children five to eleven years old, the Redwood Cooperative School in Lexington held a vaccine clinic for students and their families.
"I cried the minute I heard that it had been approved for kids," said Autumn Dmytrewycz, a parent and board member at Redwood. "We've been waiting so long for this."
By the end of the clinic, 128 vaccines had been given. 101 pediatric doses were administered to five to 11-year-olds.
Sarah Cummins, the Head of School at Redwood, said the clinic was established with the help of Wild Health. While it was originally designed for the school's students, Cummins said they later allowed some families from the broader community to book appointments.
"They first opened a certain number of spots for our five to eleven year age group, and it filled up within an hour," Cummins said.
Cummins said the demand has been so high that Wild Health agreed to return next week to vaccinate more kids.
LEX 18 spoke to parents and kids before and after their appointments. Their smiles were hard to hide--even under their masks.
"I feel like as a family, we're all heading in the right direction," said Erin Barker, whose two sons received their first shots Monday.
Most of the students who spoke with LEX 18 admitted they were nervous before getting their shots but that the actual injection did not hurt.
"It seemed like it was going to be painful," said six-year-old Lior. "But it actually felt like a gentle pinch."
Cummins said she was proud of her students.
"We have a few tears," Cummins said. "But everyone is being super brave, and they know it's okay to be scared, and it's okay to have big feelings."
"Sometimes we do the hard things," Cummins continued. "But we can do hard things, and they're all here getting it done."
