成人抖阴

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 成人抖阴 Newsletter

Brooklyn 10-year old Freya Graff did not mince words describing how she felt after receiving her first dose of the coronavirus vaccine Friday morning.

鈥淗appy, excited,鈥� she said, throwing her arms up to celebrate.

Her 5-year old sister, Mayari, who also got the shot, jumped in a circle to show off her 鈥渉appy vaccine dance鈥� outside the Brooklyn Children鈥檚 Museum, where both siblings got immunized.

Then the sisters, hand in hand with their father, skipped down the street back to their car.

Days after Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gave the final sign-off late Tuesday night to Pfizer-BioNTech鈥檚 pediatric coronavirus vaccine for use in children ages 5 to 11, shots are now rolling out and kids are 鈥� gleefully 鈥� pushing up their sleeves.

The Brooklyn Children鈥檚 Museum, located in the borough鈥檚 Crown Heights neighborhood, is one of to offer pediatric shots. Before the site鈥檚 9 a.m opening, a modest line of roughly a dozen parents and children gathered by the front doors. A larger crowd came for shots afterschool on Thursday, when the museum first had doses available for the age group.

鈥淚t鈥檚 emotional,鈥� said Kira Halevy, who was bringing her 6- and 8-year-old boys to get immunized. The pandemic has taken up about a quarter of her younger son鈥檚 lifetime, and the family jumped at the first opportunity to vaccinate their kids. 

鈥淲e鈥檝e been waiting for this,鈥� she said.

Leading up to the shots, her family used the event as a real-world lesson in biology and medicine, explaining the mechanics of the doses.

鈥淭he first shot tells your body what corona is,鈥� recited Zeke, Halevy鈥檚 older son. 鈥淭he second shot is telling your body how to fight it.鈥� 

In New York City, nearly ages 12 to 17 have been vaccinated, well above the national rate reported by the American Academy of Pediatrics for that group. 

Now with shots available for the younger age group, a speedy and thorough rollout could significantly lower COVID鈥檚 hospitalization and death toll in the U.S. over the coming months and dull the impact of future variants, according to recent . Polling indicates, however, that nationwide will 鈥渄efinitely not鈥� vaccinate their kids and others will 鈥渨ait and see.鈥� 

But the early-bird crowd on Friday was gung-ho.

鈥淚 was literally jumping up and down,鈥� said Jenna Sternbach, describing the feeling when she received the email telling her she could sign her 11-year-old daughter Adlai up for a vaccine appointment. Now, having received the first dose and with a second soon to come, Adlai will soon be able to play soccer without a mask, which she looks forward to. 

The elder Halevy son, Zeke, can see himself very soon back at his friends鈥� houses, trading  Pokemon cards, he said.

And Wesley Francois, 15, who has been eligible for vaccines since the spring but was finally persuaded to receive the shot by a requirement for his basketball team, was excited to soon be able to ease up on masking.

鈥淚鈥檒l be a little more free,鈥� he told 成人抖阴.

Plus, the pain was only a 1 on a scale of 1 to 5, Mateo Vasquez, 7, estimated after his shot.

The nation鈥檚 largest school district is doing its part to encourage the vaccination effort. On Monday, New York City officials are setting up pop-up vaccine clinics at across the five boroughs.

Efforts to boost accessibility to the shots is key, said pediatrician Maria Molina, who practices in Manhattan and the Bronx.

鈥淣ow that we have a vaccine,鈥� she told 成人抖阴, 鈥渨e have to make sure that every child has the same opportunity to get it.鈥�

That extends to cultural factors as well, she noted. 鈥淚 not only share the language of my patients, but I share the culture,鈥� said Molina, who immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic and is now a member of SOMOS Community Care, a network of city health providers from diverse linguistic backgrounds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 coming from someone who looks similar to them.鈥�

The city has extended its for new vaccine recipients to youngsters as well, including those who receive shots at school. After first doses, families will receive an email explaining how to select between a prepaid $100 debit card, tickets to sporting events  or other perks.

鈥淲e really want kids to take advantage, families to take advantage of that,鈥� said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Young folks told 成人抖阴 that they had wide-ranging plans for their newfound cash: some planning to save or donate it to school fundraisers sending holiday gifts abroad, others are planning to splurge on the aforementioned Pokemon cards or Heelys sneakers, which come with wheels in the sole.

The mayor has not stipulated whether there is a student vaccination threshold at which schools would drop universal masking rules for the classroom 鈥� a move made by at least a dozen major districts across the country in recent weeks, with mixed opinions from health experts.

Parents at the Brooklyn Children鈥檚 Museum vaccination site on Friday said that they would prefer schools wait to scrap mask mandates until vaccination rates reach as many as 90 percent of students. 

鈥淲e鈥檇 rather have any form of protection,鈥� said Kira Halevy.

Elsewhere in the U.S., Chicago Public Schools announced Thursday that it will cancel school Friday, Nov. 12 for the nation鈥檚 first 鈥溾�� in an effort to boost immunization rates.

It鈥檚 an 鈥渙pportunity for parents and guardians to take their children five years of age and older to get vaccinated at their pediatrician鈥檚 office, at a healthcare provider, or at a CPS school-based site or community vaccination event,鈥� schools CEO Pedro Martinez wrote to parents.

For those wary of vaccination, other effective safety measures against the virus may soon be on the way. Pfizer announced Friday that their new antiviral pill cuts the risk of COVID hospitalization or death by in vulnerable adults. That development, alongside President Joe Biden鈥檚 recently announced vaccine mandate deadlines for large workplaces, led Pfizer board member Scott Gottlieb to tell CNBC on Friday that the pandemic 鈥溾�� by early January. Other health experts have their doubts, citing the possibility of new mutations of the virus.

Back in Brooklyn, Winona Winkel, 9, got her first vaccine dose Friday and is already counting the days to her second. 

鈥淭hen I can hug my friends,鈥� she said. 

Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 成人抖阴 Newsletter