This story appeared in ABC 12. Read more here.
School will be starting back up for some districts in a matter of just a few weeks.
Doctors are urging teens and young adults to get their COVID-19 vaccine well before they head back to the classroom. But time is of the essence for students to reach full vaccination by the first day of school.
The latest state data shows fewer than 1 in 3 children between ages 12 and 15 years old have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Flint pediatrician Dr. Faisal Mawri wants people to remember that once they get their first dose, it’s going to be about a month before they are fully vaccinated from the coronavirus.
Mawri wants teens and young adults to get their COVID-19 vaccine early so a normal school year can go off without a hitch. It seems many are already following through.
“We’re seeing actually an increased number of teenagers coming for their Pfizer COVID vaccine. In fact, twice a week we’re doing it Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Mawri said.
He’s seeing between 30 and 40 young adults come in on those days to get vaccinated. When the Pfizer vaccine received emergency use authorization for teens back in May, Mawri saw only 10 to 15 young adults on those days.
“I think the vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective,” he said. “It has been done in Europe and across the world practically.”
Mawri said motivation for teens to get vaccinated varies.
“Really it’s a mixed feeling,” he said. “Some of them are excited. Some of them are doing it just because they really want to travel, and they want to go outside the United States, and they want to visit different states, and they want to be with their other loved ones. They want to be with their grandparents. So because of that, they want to protect them.”