By Shannon Kettler
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Cincinnati Children’s has received more than 1,300 requests for appointments to give the COVID-19 vaccine to children 12- to 15-years old. The requests began right after Governor DeWine’s announcement last week of the expansion of the vaccine age eligibility to include children who are 12 or older.
Christina of Cincinnati had her phone open and ready to schedule her daughter, Maggie, 12. She got the first appointment within one minute of registration opening in the 12-15 age group.
Cincinnati Children’s chief-of-staff, Patty Manning, MD, welcomed Maggie with a small gift bag of items as a thank-you for getting the vaccine.
Hospital staff are also vaccinating patients who are hospitalized and eligible. Neva, 15, was one of the first inpatients to receive the vaccine in the 12- to 15-year-old age group.
Vaccine appointments are available at the medical center’s main campus in Avondale and at the Liberty campus in Butler County. Scheduled appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are welcome.
To schedule an appointment, visit: Schedule a Vaccination | Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccines (cincinnatichildrens.org)
Please continue to check back to the website as more appointments may be added.
In October 2020, the medical center began vaccine clinical trials with children ages 12 to 15. About 350 children ages 2 to 17 years old are now participating in COVID-19 vaccine trials at Cincinnati Children’s. Including adults, more than 1,400 individuals are participating in one of the clinical trials at Cincinnati Children’s, which involve several different vaccines.
Cincinnati Children’s recently launched a Vaccine Resources website to share facts, answer questions and bust myths about vaccines: https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/patients/vaccines