Pfizer announces vaccine safe for kids, Bowling Green Grandmothers react

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Monday, Pfizer announced its vaccine is effective for children ages 5 to 11. Pfizer said they tested over 2000 children in this study, and the results showed the vaccine is safe for the children when administered at a reduced dosage. 

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, pediatric Covid cases are up 240 percent in the nation since July. 

Pfizer Senior Vice President Dr. Bill Gruber said the company plans to submit these results to the FDA for emergency use authorization.

“We’re hopeful and expectant that the FDA will approve the vaccine based on the data we have,” said Gruber.

At Rockfield Elementary School in Bowling Green, Nancy Henderson, or as her grandsons call her, Maw-Maw, came to Rockfield to pick up 8-year old Jac. She said she is for the idea of her grandchildren receiving the vaccines. 

“We think that it’s going to be a good idea for the kids to get the shot, too,” remarked Henderson.

Henderson said her own family has dealt with loss due to the virus, and all she wants is safety for Jac and his little brother 3-year-old Casen Henderson.

“I understand that there’s people that are afraid,” said Henderson. “We’ve lost a grandparent, a father to coronavirus, so we would want our family healthy.”

Kris Potter is a kindergarten teacher and Grandma to Knox Potter, another student at Rockfield Elementary. Like Henderson, she said she is in favor of the vaccine for her grandson.

“All the kids, I just think they need to be protected, and they need to protect their teachers, too, and their families,” said Potter. “So, if the shot is available, it’s like a flu shot, it’s like the chickenpox shot. It keeps you from getting sick.”

Though Henderson and Potter are both in favor of this change, only time will tell how Southcentral Kentucky feels about vaccines for children.