LOUISVILLE, Ky. — While Louisville's vaccination sites struggle to find more willing adults to get a shot, more than 3,000 kids are ready and waiting for theirs at one hospital alone.
That's according to Kristina Bryan, MD, an infectious disease expert at Norton Children's Hospital.
What You Need To Know
- The FDA has approved Pfizer's vaccine for kids as young as 12
- Norton Children's Hospital has 3,000+ kids pre-registered for a shot
- Norton infectious disease MD addressed how to face hesitancy from families
- She said they hope to begin vaccinating kids on May 13
Around the country, the wheels are in motion, with the FDA’s new approval for the Pfizer vaccine to be administered to kids as young as 12. Bryant is excited to reach this group of Kentuckians.
"We have a little over 3,000 kids already pre-registered," she said during a Tuesday virtual press conference. "As soon as all the approvals are in place, they will receive a link to actually make an appointment to get a vaccine."
Michelle Lenz and her husband, both Louisville-area residents, are vaccinated. Lenz told Spectrum News 1 her daughter Isabelle, 15, can’t wait to be next.
"She’s a sophomore, so she hasn’t had a normal school year yet in high school," she said. "So we’re looking forward to junior year to be able to go to proms, to be able to do all of that— the school activities. There’s no prom this year for them, so those kinds of things... [are] huge for the teenagers."
Though more than 3,000 kids are pre-registered at Norton, we asked Bryant about reaching those families who are hesitant to get a shot.
"I think concerns may be different for different families," she explained. "What we know now is that kids do get COVID[-19]. More than 3.7 million kids have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19."
With a new group of eligible Kentuckians, health officials hope the recent short lines seen at vaccination sites get a youthful boost.