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Chesapeake hosts COVID-19 vaccine clinic for kids 5-11

Chesapeake Health Department held its first clinic for children ages five to 11 Tuesday, which is the start to a large process to vaccinate kids in the area.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. —
Leaders with the Chesapeake Health Department say they are trying to make the vaccine rollout for young children a smooth process, starting with more than 2,000 pediatric doses.

Chesapeake Emergency Coordinator, Jerry Tucker, says he is confident the state supply will meet the area's demand. 

He says the effort comes down to the department's partnership with local schools to provide clinics.

"We think parents will probably be more comfortable with their kids in the school system. It's a very familiar scenery," said Tucker. "I think at this point, we're going to focus on our existing school clinics and hopefully add more school clinics."

Tucker says the COVID-19 transmission rate in Chesapeake is currently lower but that could change once the holidays roll around. 

He says his team has a goal to administer as many doses as possible before children travel to see family members.

"We're cautiously looking at the numbers every day, because we are going into the holiday season, so that's definitely a risk factor," said Tucker. "Also, the temperatures are getting cooler, so typically more people will congregate indoors more where ventilation is not as good."

Tucker says after seeing some hesitancy among parents to get their children vaccinated, his team wants to make each clinic a comfortable atmosphere, including bringing in therapy dogs to help soothe the children. 

He says he hopes parents will talk with their children before coming in for their shot, so they know what to expect.

"In some cases, children can feel the side effects of the vaccine, so it's important that parents impress upon their children that this is short-lived and it will eventually protect themselves and protect other people around them," Tucker explained. 

The Chesapeake Health Department says in addition to the schools, vaccine coordinators are looking to expand the clinic at the Dominion Commons shopping plaza.

Health leaders are also teaming up with McDonald's and Amazon to promote the clinics.

The next vaccine clinic for children ages five to 11 is Wednesday at Deep Creek High School 4-7 p.m. You can find more information on the clinics with the schools here.

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