Younger children in central Ohio got their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, 10TV got an inside look at the first 5- to 11-year-old kids to get the newly approved kid-sized Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Thirty-seven central Ohioans from ages 5-11 get their first dose of the vaccine.
We spoke with 10-year-old’s Holden, Harper, and Parker McKenzie who are triplets
"I was kind of nervous to begin with because I don't like shots,” said Parker.
The three were some of the first to get their shots at the hospital's pilot clinic.
“It's been a long wait for us to get the vaccine, but I was beyond excited to get it really hoping like, it's going to be super soon,” Holden said.
Vaccinations started just one day after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention gave the final OK for kids. "We just found out last night, so basically we just had one day,” said Parker.
Now that kids can get vaccinated, they're already thinking about what could happen with school.
"I don't think it will necessarily change the masking mandate until maybe next year, but I do think it will like, not be as strict,” Parker said.
In the first shipment, doctors at Nationwide said they received 3,000 doses. The vaccine for kids, is one-third of the dosage older individuals would get.
"Kids aren't little adults so they had to get studied separately for this age group and so just like we have all those routine child immunizations, this is one more to add on to really protect their child and family,” said Dr. Sara Bode, a primary care pediatrician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Doctors plan to vaccinate 500 to 600 kids a day.
“It was one of the best days ever...that today I was going to get my COVID vaccine,” Holden said.
Doctors also have specialists available to help kids get through the process.