Paducah Middle School provided free doses of the Pfizer vaccine during a clinic on Tuesday, enabling students and families to get the shot to stop the spread of COVID-19.
The clinic was hosted by Wild Health, a Lexington-based company that has been contracting with Kentucky to provide vaccines across the state.
Troy Brock, director of pupil personnel at Paducah Independent Schools, said the district aims to provide vaccines to all students who want them, but won’t require vaccination for enrollment.
“We really haven’t taken on any kind of advisory role to parents about the vaccine,” Brock said. “It’s not our position, as a school district, to determine whether the vaccine is appropriate or not, but we want to provide the means and the access for families who do want their children to be vaccinated, to give them that opportunity, where they may not have access maybe in their area.”
The vaccine has been authorized in Kentucky for people age 16 and older since March 31, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine for people aged 12 through 15 years old on May 10.
The clinic at Paducah Middle School ended on Tuesday, but other vaccination sites can be found on the state’s website.
Harper Ford, director of vaccine and testing sites in Kentucky for Wild Health, said about 65 people had already signed up for the clinic as of Tuesday afternoon, and walk-ins were welcome.
“We were doing schools beforehand [prior to Pfizer’s expanded eligibility],” Ford said. “It was a community thing, just because it’s an area that a lot of people are familiar with. But recently, it has been more beneficial just for the kids that were 12 to 15.”
Simone Greer brought her 14 year-old daughter Hailey to get the first dose of the vaccine at the clinic. Before letting her daughter get the shot, Simone said she did “a lot of reading and watching videos” to make sure the vaccine was safe.
“My mom’s been crazy about visiting,” Simone Greer said. “The sooner we’re all vaccinated, we can go back to being around each other again.”
Hailey Greer, who has asthma, said she asked her mother to get the vaccine because she had anxiety about contracting the virus, and she wants to attend the fair.
“Obviously, I don’t want COVID,” Hailey Greer said. “I have to come to school still, and there’s just a lot of people around me, so I feel like it would be the safer option to just get the vaccine.”
Briana Sims also brought her 14 year-old daughter Cora to get her first dose of the vaccine. Briana said she hasn’t gotten the vaccine yet out of concern for side effects, but she plans to get one soon.
“I actually saw my doctor today and asked her some questions,” Sims said. “But at the end of the day, we want to get everything back open and make sure that nobody’s getting sick anymore so we can get back to life.”
Cora Sims said she wanted to get the vaccine so she can attend her friends’ summer gatherings.
“I know some [friends], their parents don’t know exactly what’s in [the vaccine] and what it causes and the effects,” Cora Sims said. “Their parents won’t allow them to get it until they know exactly what’s in it and what the exact effects are.”
Thirteen year-old Londyn Petit-Frere said she wasn’t worried about getting the vaccine because she wants to go back to school without wearing a face mask.
“I saw the crazy theories and stuff on Facebook, and I didn’t really believe it was scary,” Petit-Frere said. “I wanted to keep me and my family safe, and my friends, and the people that I’m around daily. If you want to protect yourself and your bubble, then get vaccinated.”
