FISHERS — Parents lined up at the Fishers Mass Vaccination Clinic in Fishers on Wednesday, ready to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19. It was the first day since the COVID-19 vaccine was approved for children ages five to 11.
The line was long, the space inside was packed and crowded, and while many children were able to receive their first doses of the pediatric Pfizer vaccine, some did not.
Kelly Panzer, of Fishers, showed up at the clinic to wait in line to get her daughter, Caelan, 11, vaccinated against COVID-19, but ended up turning around.
"We're just trying to get her vaccinated," Panzer said. "She's 11, so she's the last one in our family to get vaccinated. She wasn't able to before now, but she's asthmatic, so I felt it was important for her. Everybody else in our family has gotten it, our son, my husband, and I."
Panzer added that she works in healthcare so she's been watching and waiting for her daughter's age group to be next to receive the vaccine. "She's probably the most high risk in our family so we were definitely trying to stay on top of it."
Panzer also described the long line as being backed up to the entrance of the clinic. "Once you got through the screening process, then there was another line that went back to the entrance as well for kids five to 11."
Even though her daughter didn't end up getting the vaccine on Wednesday as she had hoped, Panzer told WRTV she already made an appointment at Walgreen's, but it's not until next week. "But I want to try to get her in before then," she said. However, she was excited to see the turnout at the mass vaccination clinic. "I feel like everybody is trying to do their part, and it made me so excited to see so many people here, at least locally, trying to do that."
Caelan is also excited about the prospect of receiving the vaccine. "Yeah, because now, I don't have to go home and like, do work online. I'd rather be at school."
For her, it's one more step forward in the right direction to getting back to normal.
"I feel like once everyone gets vaccinated, there will be fewer masks and it wouldn't be mandated anymore," Caelan said.
For more information on how to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment for your kids, visit ourshot.in.gov or dial 211.
