BOISE, Idaho — On Tuesday, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave the final approval for children ages 5 through 11 to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Soon after the announcement was made, Primary Health Medical Group opened its doors in Idaho for parents to make an appointment for their child.
For Matt Duncan, he's been waiting for the day that he could vaccinate his daughter against COVID-19.
"She's 11 and I heard Primary Health has vaccinations, and so if they do I'm thinking we could just make it happen at this checkup," Duncan told The 208. "I think it's just like gambling, it's playing the odds and why would you not want better odds?"
Duncan's daughter has also been waiting for it.
"I'm excited for the vaccine, not excited for the needle," the young girl told KTVB on Wednesday.
To make an appointment with Primary Health, click here.
However, according to Doctor David Peterman, the CEO of Primary Health Medical Group, between 60 to 70% of parents aren't ready to vaccinate their children against the coronavirus.
"What I remind parents is this vaccine, which is a messenger RNA vaccine, have been studied for 25 years, we also have the advantage that of course, it's the older kids, but we have been giving this vaccine to children that are 12 and older all over the world, and literally millions of doses," he said.
Peterman added that the trial size for the vaccine in children was smaller than other trials, but said none of the children had any serious side effects from the vaccine.
The positivity rate in Idaho's children is too high, according to Peterman, at about 20%.
"All of us have lived through the tragedy of coronavirus, and the opportunity to protect our most precious resource, our children, and allow them to safely go to school and be with their friends and grandparents is very exciting," Dr. Petterman said in a statement.
Flu vaccines and COVID-19 booster shots are also available at Primary Health.
"We are going to go visit my grandmother who is 92 and it would be great if everybody was vaccinated for Thanksgiving," Duncan told The 208.
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