DICKSON CITY, Pa. — Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam was in Lackawanna County on Thursday to encourage parents to get their kids vaccinated as soon as possible.
The doctors at the facility she visited say more than 600 appointments have been booked, and they've already started giving out doses.
Jennifer Kapp's seven-year-old daughter was one of the first children to get the COVID-19 vaccine at Pediatrics of Northeastern Pennsylvania in Dickson City.
Kapp asked her daughter if she wanted the shot after the CDC gave it the green light for kids ages five to 11.
"You can see the wheels turning in her head, and she thought about it for a second and said, 'Well, if I get vaccinated, and everyone else gets vaccinated, then there'll be no more COVID, right mom?' And obviously, it's a very simplistic view, but yes, there will be no more COVID, and that's what we need to do," said Kapp.
Kapp was on hand for a visit to the county from the acting secretary of health, Alison Beam. Beam urged parents to act now.
"Time is our most precious commodity. One of the aspects of the COVID response broadly has always been that we're under pressure, and our time under pressure is extended longer the longer it takes us to get folks vaccinated," Beam said.
But not all parents are so sure about getting their kids vaccinated just yet.
We spoke to Yvonne Ellis on her way out of the pediatrician's office with her nine-year-old son.
"I'm a little iffy on it. I just want to get more information before I decide to get him vaccinated. So if there's more tests and trials that go on, then I'll probably be able to vaccinate him after that," said Ellis.
But Ellis felt reassured to hear Secretary Beam's answer to whether the vaccine might be mandated for kids in schools.
"At this time, there's no discussions about mandatory vaccinations, particularly as it's approved on the EUA. So that's not in the forecast for the near future," added Beam.
Newswatch 16 also asked Dr. Kate Tigue, a physician at Pediatrics of Northeastern PA, whether she'd recommend the shot for kids who have already had COVID.
"The answer to that is yes," Tigue said. "We know that vaccine-induced immunity is much stronger, much longer-lasting than natural immunity."
Secretary Beam also said the supply and distribution of the vaccines for kids should not be an issue.
More than 400,000 doses will be given out to vaccine providers in PA by the end of the week, and the CDC says it's ramping up distribution in the coming days.
Staffing shortages – that's something the state is keeping an eye on but doesn't seem to be an issue for their providers yet.
More information from the state on COVID-19 vaccines for children is available here.
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