As COVID-19 vaccines continue rolling out around the United States with the Food and Drug Association’s approval, Pfizer has submitted data to the FDA hoping to start allowing children aged 5-11 to start receiving their own vaccinations. These vaccinations could come as early as late October and definitely before the end of 2021.
With this information in mind, the Bibb County School district has already issued a statement on the prospects of elementary school students being able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.
“If a COVID-19 vaccine is made available to elementary school students, that would allow our classrooms to return to more normal situations,” Jeremy Timmerman, a Bibb County School District Communications Specialist, said in an email.
However, some children would still be unvaccinated or would be unable to be vaccinated, which would mean the current protocol would remain in effect.
The Bibb County School District believes that the research implemented in making decisions on vaccinations have the best interests of the population in mind as the vaccine has made things more manageable for the adult faculty and staff in the schools.
“The vaccine is an effective way of stopping the spread of the virus and we encourage parents to discuss receiving a vaccination with their local physician,” Timmerman said.
The decision for the kids to receive vaccinations, however, will depend on the families of these children and their opinions about the vaccine.
Lane Hinton, a Bibb County mother of two school children, said she was fully in favor of vaccinating her children even with other vaccinations such as the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and flu vaccines. Her oldest child, Jackson, is already vaccinated and her young son, Lennox, will soon follow with FDA approval.
“Jackson turned 12 in April and was vaccinated as soon as the vaccine was made available to children ages 12 and up,” Lane said in a text message. “At this point he is fully vaccinated, and we are only waiting for the vaccines to be made available to younger children so that we can get Lennox vaccinated as well.“
The vaccine has made the family’s lives easier and with the delta variant of COVID-19, the family still wears masks outside and agrees that vaccinating their youngest member would make their lives easier.
Lane worries that her children, and the rest of the county’s children, are at risk of catching COVID-19. She also worries that her children can act as vectors for the spread of the disease and hopes the parents of her community will follow her example to protect the community.
