Hundreds of children registered for vaccines
Special vaccine clinics for children ages 5 to 11 filled quickly at Butler Memorial Hospital.
Butler Health System opened registration Nov. 3 for a few special vaccine clinics for the age group this week, but had to add more appointment slots and dates when they began quickly filling up.
The hospital had its first children's clinic Tuesday, where 60 doses were distributed. Chief nursing officer Karen Allen said the response was a pleasant surprise.
“We put 60 out for the week, and then we added (clinics on Friday and Saturday) because they were taken almost immediately,” Allen said. “We're thrilled that so many signed up; we just didn't expect it.”
According to Allen, the hospital has several more clinics scheduled and booked up this week and next week. Already, about 500 children are signed up to get vaccinated.Allen said that while the vaccine team has distributed many more vaccines per day than are scheduled at the children's clinics, the organizers want to have enough time to keep children calm when getting their shot.“This team has done 2,600 vaccines in a day over the course of this,” Allen said. “We just want to see how the kids flow is first.”Allen said the hospital doesn't take children who are infected with COVID-19 as inpatients, and they are instead sent to UPMC Children's Hospital. She also said she hasn't seen many come through the emergency department with COVID-19 symptoms.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. The vaccine doses that will be administered to children are less than the amount for adults, but Allen said it can still cause some residual symptoms like body aches.
Children have to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian in order to receive the vaccine at a Butler Health System clinic. They will also schedule a second dose appointment for three weeks later at the initial appointment.Children and their accompanying parents or guardians must wait at the vaccination site for 15 to 30 minutes after receiving the vaccine to ensure there are no negative side effects. The staff supplied the pediatric vaccine site with games and toys to make patients as comfortable as possible, said retired chief nursing officer Mabel Gray.Allen said at least six people will staff the clinics, and the hospital turned to community volunteers to fill staffing spots. Allen said school nurses are volunteering, as well as retired hospital workers and some contractors. Also helping to coordinate the clinics is Karen Gagen, an X-ray technician at the hospital, whom Allen said is “the brains behind the operation.”Gray, who is volunteering at the clinics, said she is pleasantly surprised by the number of children already registered to get vaccinated.“We just want to get vaccines to people,” Gray said. “We weren't sure what to expect.”Allen said Butler Health System doctors communicate with local school administrators about vaccine opportunities and updates. She said the hospital was a better location than individual schools to host these clinics, because of the easy setup and resources available at the hospital.
Getting children protected from the virus is a large step in cutting down transmissions, Allen said.“There is a level of relief with the pediatric,” Allen said. “It will be interesting to see how many come through, and we still have a lot of adults that need vaccinated.”Butler Health System still administers vaccines at the BHS Crossroads Campus for people age 12 and older. Allen said the hospital encourages anyone eligible to be vaccinated because it helps cut down on community spread. “We have 43 patients in the hospital as of this morning with COVID,” Allen said Tuesday. “It is not over, so hopefully everybody steps up to the plate.”Gray said she came out of retirement to help at the clinics, because she has been watching the number of deaths and infected individuals continue to rise in the recent months. She said other people also want to help because they are passionate about the cause.“They believe in this hospital and the community so strongly that they want to be a part of this,” Gray said. “When you're at home, and ... you hear all these terrible things and feel so helpless, (you say) 'I'm a nurse, how can I help?'”Vaccine appointments for children ages 5 to 11 can be scheduled on BHS' website, which also hosts information on new clinic dates when available.
