“A shot. I don’t think a shot will be bad,” says Hamm. “I’m strong.”
With her light up shoes on and her big muscles as she describes them, she was ready to roll up her sleeve and do her part to end COVID-19.
Her parents say she’s been asking to get vaccinated for three months. They took her to Louisville’s first community pediatric vaccine clinic at Smoketown Family Wellness Center.
It’s in partnership with the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness. Vaccines and booster shots for adults were also available.
Getting the shot was a little scarier than she predicted, but those few seconds were well worth it.
“I’m very proud of her for getting it done. In fact, after she got it done she said 'Oh not bad',” said her parent Felix Manner. “She’s scared about COVID and she hasn’t seen firsthand but she’s heard what it can do and she’s happy to be safe.”
Seeing younger children show up to get vaccinated gave the center’s pediatrician Charlotte Gay-Stites hope.
“There's been so many stressors for kids whose family members have been sick. So many kids have lost a family member or a loved one as well and so being able to protect this additional age range from five years and up is really exciting,” said Gay-Stites.
Even more exciting for Gay-Stites, being able to provide access to vaccines in Smoketown, an underserved neighborhood disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
“This takes us one step closer to returning to normal, where we can have all of these social interactions that are so vital for children and their learning and their development,” said Gay-Stites.
In the United States and across the globe, fewer cases of COVID-19 have been reported in children younger than 17 compared to adults according to the CDC.
Gay-Stites said children still felt the impact of the pandemic.
“It has been a long year and a half for all of us, but I think especially for kids, not being able to go to school, having to mask, having to quarantine, and missing school this year,” said Gay-Stites.
Gay-Stites said even after returning to school, some children are experiencing stressors like dealing with sick family members, the loss of loved ones, and falling behind in school.
“There's been a huge problem with gap and learning with our children and a huge amount of learning loss during the past year and a half, so that when children are vaccinated against COVID if they come down with symptoms of COVID they should still be tested, but if their COVID test is negative once they have been vaccinated, then they can safely continue going to school so we can start to normalize our day to day activities, including going to work, going to school, socializing with other people,” said Gay-Stites.
Gay-Stites said while it seems not as many children are impacted by COVID compared to adults, no one is sure who will be significantly impacted by the virus.
“COVID is now a vaccine-preventable disease and so we can now offer protection for everybody ages 5 and up. So, while the numbers may not be enormous of children with significant disease, it is preventable and for the child themselves for other family members to make sure that people are not infected,” said Gay-Stites.
While some parents are excited for their children to be vaccinated, others are hesitant. She said side effects of other vaccines, like soreness at the site of the arm, fever, headaches, and nauseousness for up to two days are expected.
“Really this vaccine is safe, and if we can get more shots in arms for all age groups then we're going to be able to start to get back to normal and start to prepare for the next variant whether it's delta or another variant that may be coming down the road so that we can make sure everybody is protected as we move into the holidays, as we move into flu and RSV season,” said Gay-Stites.
Gay-Stites encourages parents to ensure their children have all routine childhood immunizations and for everyone no matter age to get not only the COVID vaccine but also flu vaccines to stay healthy and safe.
“We still are not in a place where we will not be masked, but this takes us one step closer to returning to normal, where we can have all of these social interactions that are so vital for children and their learning and their development,” said Gay-Stites. “While our numbers have dropped a little bit, it has plateaued, and we continue to see a fair number of illnesses and hospitalizations.”
Smoketown Family Wellness center will host a clinic every Monday from 4 to 6 p.m. through the end of the year.
A decision to continue after that will be decided later.