A Real Shot in The Arm
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
Halloween is such a blast. You get to come up with a costume, decorate pumpkins and go trick or treating with your friends. Hi everyone. Scoop the Cub Reporter here from The Shady Pines Gazette news.
My editor, Zulah Talmadge, gave me this assignment becuase she knows I think this holiday is really cool.
So here’s the first thing I found out when I talked to an infectious disease doctor from nearby River City. Dr. Kelly Claiborne told me that you should keep doing what you have been doing: avoid large gatherings, keep a
Have fun with it! Outdoor costume parades are another way to go. You just have to remember to stay at least 6 feet apart and wear cloth face coverings. There are a lot of new Halloween masks out there that cover your nose and moth.
You just have to be careful. My buddy, Tommy, cut his finger a couple of years back. He was OK, but it was kinda scary at first. Dr. Claiborne says if you have young kids you can always have them draw a face with markers. Then parents can do the cutting. And, just to be on the safe side, try using a battery-operated light rather than an open-flame candle inside the pumkin when you finish.
My mom is always coming up with great Halloween treats. One year we decorated a pizza with toppings in the shape of a jack-o’-lantern. She also made some killer cupckes that looked like ghosts. Those were pretty cool. We’ve even done popcorn with red peper and parsley flakes for color and “doughnuts of doom.” I’m sending you the recipe for those and some treats you might want to make for yourselves. 
In Shady Pines we’re going to have a haunted pumpkin patch near this really big old house. It’s close to Stonewall Park. We’re working on making the lighting super spooky! Everyone will have to wear a mask and we’ll have a one-way path through the area.
Mayor Beauregard Fibbs is discouraging Trick-or-treating in Shady Pines. If it’s still on in your neighborhood, experts want you to avoid large groups or gahtering at doorsteps.
If your kids collect treats from a few, socially distanced neighbors, you may want to wipe the packages when you get home. And, yeah, washing your hands or using hand sanitizer before and after trick-or-treating is always a good idea.
I guess what I’m learning from experts is this. Holiday or no holiday, when adults are being positive and doing the right thing it’s a good thing for kids to see. They’ll start making good choices, too. So, this Halloween, let’s all have some scary good fun and think about the safety of others at the same time!