The Covid 19 Vaccine 

Help is on the way! I’m Scoop the Cub Reporter for The Shady Pines Gazette news. We’re watching as cases of the Covid 19 vaccine are being delivered across the country. There’s been all sorts of activity at the Pfizer plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Pfizer is the company that was approved by our government to go ahead and start shipping its vaccine. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Each vial of vaccine has to be packed and stored in containers that keep it really, really cold.

Workers are making sure that each dose is packed just right. Then, those containers are sealed up tight and loaded onto planes. This valuable cargo will be delivered to sites that are ready to handle the containers. Pfizer’s vaccine needs to be stored in special, ultra-cold freezers. Once removed from cold storage, doses need to get into a person’s arm in a short amount of time.

Who Gets Vaccinated First?

Medical experts say healthcare workers should get the vaccine first since they’re on the front lines. Our doctors and nurses are caring for the very sick who have been hospitalized with Covid 19.  Our brave healthcare workers are trying to keep up with the growing number of people who need their help.

Next up to get the shot of vaccine will be vulnerable Americans. That includes elderly folks like grandparents and people with preexisting conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Also included in that first group are essential workers like police and fire fighters along with teachers and people who work at grocery stores.

What About Children?

Children and young adults, who are seen as at less of a risk for severe disease, are expected to get the vaccine last. 

“Children are not just small adults,” says Dr. Sallie Permar. She’s a professor of pediatrics, microbiology and immunology at the Duke University School of Medicine in North Carolina.

“A child’s immune system is different from an adult’s. There are certain vaccines that work better in children than adults. And there are certain vaccines that work less well in children compared to adults. So kids have to be specifically studied.”

Is Anyone Testing Kids For The Vaccine?

Until now, it’s been mostly adults who have been studied for their reactions to the vaccine. But now, health experts have called on researchers to broaden their trials to include more children. Pfizer just recently began testing children as young as 12.  Once the vaccine is shown to be safe in older kids, the trials could slowly and carefully include younger children.

No one likes getting a shot. But if the vaccines being developed by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca can help to slow the spread of Coronavirus, it’s worth it. That’s what the folks in nearby River City tell us. The hosipital on the other side of the McCaw River is filling up with Covid 19 patients and soon there won’t be enough beds.

Should You Get The Shot?

Running out of hosipital beds and health care workers to treat patients is the sort of emergency situation we’re trying to avoid. Our mayor, Beauregard P. Fibbs tells us that he will get the shot as soon as it is available to him. And, he’s going to encourage everyone else to do the same. Mayor Fibbs has been hearing that he might make the list by next spring. Over in Great Britain they’ve already been getting the vaccine shots and so far there haven’t been any reports of bad side effects.

But kids will have to wait longer than adults. Experts say that it might be fall of 2021 before a vaccine is approved for younger children. Seven year old Ray Robinson says he’s not scared of getting the shot. His mom says she isn’t either.

In the meantime, while we all wait for a vaccine, we still need to stay healthy. So, remember to wear a mask, stay 6 feet from other people you don’t know, and wash your hands often. You know the old saying: It’s Better To Be Safe Than Sorry!

-Scoop