BOSTON (WHDH) - The push is on to get teenage students in the Bay State vaccinated against COVID-19.
North Quincy High School held a vaccine clinic for students over the age of 16 on Wednesday, administering first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
A proud member of the Red Raiders football team says he didn’t a feel a thing as he received his second dose.
“I want to get the country free again and live a normal life,” Liam Hines said. “I can do my part and get my vaccination. It’s another step forward for us.”
More than 100 students received a dose of the vaccine at the clinic, which is one of the first of its kind to launch in the state.
Quincy High School plans to give out shots on Monday, May 10.
Quincy Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Mulvey said the city wants to make it “as easy as possible” for students and their families to access the vaccine.
Dr. Sandy Nelson, an infections disease expert at Massachusetts General Hospital, says school-run vaccine clinics are vitally important to slowing the spread of COVID-19.
“The most common group of individuals who are becoming sick right now are both the older adolescents and the young adults, so between around 15 and around 30,” Nelson explained. “That’s really the dominant age group that’s transmitting the infection right now.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Pfizer’s vaccine for youngsters ages 12 to 15 by next week, setting up shots for many before the beginning of the next school year.
Gov. Charlie Baker said Wednesday that the state is not yet considering making the vaccine mandatory for in-person learning.
Pfizer says its research shows the vaccine can be safe for younger children. Toddlers as young as 2 years of age could begin getting shots in September.
Moderna is also studying vaccine safety and efficacy in young children.
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