Fifteen-year-old Madeleine Jenkins was first up to get a COVID-19 vaccine at Parkland Hospital on Thursday.
She was a little scared at first, but nurse Karina Garcia assured her it was “just a little sting.”
For Madeleine, receiving the vaccination meant finally seeing loved ones like her grandparents and having some fun with friends.
“I look forward to having a birthday party. Going to school without having to wear masks, going to dance without having to wear masks because that gets very uncomfortable,” she said. “And hopefully I can go to Disney World eventually.”
Madeleine served as a high-profile advertisement for vaccination: her father is Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. He asked that his daughter be the first child in Dallas County to publicly receive the shot, because he wanted to make a statement.
“I want to try to reassure moms and dads that the vaccine is safe,” Judge Jenkins said. “And — according to the clinical test — is 100% effective in kids 12 to 16 years of age.”
On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended children 12 to 15 get vaccinated for COVID-19. The change came after the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for that age group.
Dallas County Public Health Director Dr. Philip Huang also wanted to reassure parents the shot is safe for children.
“The development of these (vaccines) — there were no shortcuts in the process of these,” he said. “They're building on the science that had been developed for years before this.”
Huang said children ages 12 to 15 make up about 6% of Dallas County's population.
According to county officials, last week, about 21% of reported COVID-19 cases were children under the age of 17.
In a call with reporters on Thursday, the Texas Department of State Health Services said it would not recommend making the vaccine mandatory for eligible students.
“We typically follow the state Legislature’s guidance on what vaccines to require for the back-to-school timeframe, and at this point there is no intention of making it mandatory,” said Imelda Garcia, DSHS associate commissioner of laboratory and infectious disease services.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will also allow COVID-19 vaccines to be administered along with routine vaccines, which have dropped off significantly since the onset of the pandemic.
“This is a really big policy decision,” Garcia said. “If they’re behind on other vaccines, we do have the potential for other diseases to be able to spread.”
According to DSHS, there are over 1.6 million Texans between the ages of 12 and 15.
Dallas County officials will begin rolling out the two-dose Pfizer vaccine for more children on Friday.
Jenkins said children don't need appointments to get shots through Dallas County website, but they are recommended.
Pfizer vaccines for children will be available at the Fair Park hub site, some CVS pharmacies, and some Parkland Hospital-owned clinics. Parents who go directly to the sites will have to be present to sign a consent form for their child.
For kids enrolled in the Dallas or DeSoto Independent School Districts, the county is offering parents the option to sign a form, similar to a field trip permission slip, to sign up their child for the vaccine. Both districts will bus teens to the Fair Park hub site for vaccination.
Madeleine Jenkins was one of 10 children to get the shot at Parkland Hospital on Thursday, and more than willing to help her dad get the word out.
“My first thought was probably ‘yay, I get to be on TV,’” said Madeleine. “But other than that, I was just excited to get the shot in general.”
Got a tip? Alejandra Martinez is a Report For America corps member and writes about the impact of COVID-19 on underserved communities for KERA News. Email Alejandra at amartinez@kera.org. You can follow Alejandra on Twitter @alereports.
Got a tip? Email Bret Jaspers at bjaspers@kera.org. You can follow Bret on Twitter @bretjaspers.
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