WACO, Texas — Just days after the CDC authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5 to 11, parents and kids lined up at the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District for their first chance to get one.
The line for the vaccine far surpassed the district's expectations on the first day of availability. 102 children under the age of 12 received the vaccine at the health district on Friday.
"I got excited and I told my mom, 'Can I please get it?' and she said, 'I'll see what I can do,'" said 8-year-old Andraya Lozano.
Parents like Yingling Liu had been waiting for the big day for months.
"I literally jumped out of my chair, like great! I'm gonna book an appointment, like, today," Liu said. She brought her 7-year-old son, Zecharia Zhou.
Not all parents are so eager to get their kids vaccinated. The health district is still trying to ease their concerns.
"The more people with some type of immunity, the less likely we are to see another spike of cases in our community," said health district director LaShonda Malrey-Horne.
The available vaccine is a smaller, lower-dose version of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, designed specifically for kids.
You can register for a COVID-19 vaccine, including boosters and pediatric vaccines, on the health district's website.
To find other vaccine locations, you can visit the CDC's vaccine finder.
