Driving through the gates of Oaks Park amusement park, Shannon Scorgie had a tear in her eye and a smile spread across her face.
Her son, Jordan, 11, had just received his dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a drive-thru style vaccination clinic Friday hosted by Sellwood Medical Clinic. Jordan is one of 1,200 patients ages 5 to 11 who will receive their dose through Sunday at Oaks Park.
It was all smiles at the idle amusement park, where the nearby rides sat empty and the games went untouched. Cheers and laughter erupted as each car passed through the check-in tents en route to get children vaccinated against COVID-19.
“You can do it!” doctors and nurses encouraged, as kids rolled down car windows to get the jab.
For Jordan, Friday’s vaccination – the first of two shots he’ll need – gave him the hopes of unlocking long-held travel dreams.
“(I’m going to) travel to London in the UK and check out all the cool train museums there,” Jordan said. “Big train enthusiast.”
For Scorgie, watching her only child deal with homeschooling and stay away from high-risk family members has been hard. Social interactions with friends had been limited.
But today, Shannon felt a big sigh of relief.
“Twenty months of worry,” Scorgie said. “We’re hoping in the new year he can get back to school.”
The Sellwood vaccination site is one of the first in Oregon to roll out vaccinations for 5- to 11-year-olds since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Oregon officials approved the doses this week. The earliest appointments have been especially hard to come by, as the state anticipated receiving about 73,500 doses this week against a newly eligible population of roughly 330,000 kids.
Many parents nationwide have indicated they will take a wait-and-see approach toward vaccinating their children, who are in an age range with the lowest risk of severe COVID. But demand for the shots is expected to be particularly strong in the tri-county metro area, where nearly 81% of adults have been at least partially vaccinated.
Dr. Monique Pritchard, a pediatrician and co-founder of the Sellwood office, said Friday’s event was “kind of like a Beyonce concert.”
“This is what we have been excited about,” Pritchard said. “I’ve been doing this for over 25 years and have never had an experience like this.”
Among those to get their shots were sisters Gwyneth, 7, and Evelyn, 10, with their mother Carolyn Shelak who said she was “ecstatic” as they were waiting in their car 15-minutes post-vaccination, to ensure no side effects developed.
Evelyn is excited to see her friends. Gwyneth is planning to take trapeze lessons.
“I feel like I can take a breath for the first time in two years,” Shelak said.
Drivers at the clinic could honk the horn of their car if there were any reactions to the vaccine and Sellwood had medical staff on standby.
Watching over the cars filled with patients was Jeanette Haughton, pediatric nurse practitioner. Haughton said the most common side effect 5 to 11-year-olds will see from the shot will be soreness in their arm.
Andrea Saven said her household will be celebrating with a little family party Friday night after her kids, Roman and Mabel, 7 and 10, received their shots.
“It just takes a big layer of stress off,” Saven said. “They’re excited to spend time with their friends without masks on.”
WHERE TO LOOK FOR AN APPOINTMENT
Parents looking to get their child a COVID vaccination will start to see appointments pop up throughout the state over the next week.
Kaiser Permanente in Portland will begin administering vaccinations on Saturday by appointment only. Parents can visit the Kaiser Permanente website for more information and to make an appointment. Both non-members of Kaiser and members are welcome, but non-members will need to request a health record number for their child to make an appointment.
The practice also plans to partner with Portland Public Schools and Medical Teams International to vaccine clinics at several elementary schools. Information can be found on the Portland Public Schools website.
Portland Public Schools hosting clinics:
- Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Elementary
- César Chávez K-8
- Faubion PK-8
- Lent Elementary
- Rigler Elementary
- Rosa Parks Elementary
- Scott Elementary
- Sitton Elementary
David Douglas School District announced a 5-year-old and older clinic on Nov. 22 at David Douglas High School’s south campus. The second clinic, for the second dose, will be Dec. 13. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are strongly recommended.
Clackamas County’s appointment scheduler has an option online for pediatric doses. Clackamas County’s children’s clinics will be held Nov. 10 and 17, and Dec. 1, 8, 15 and 29 from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Clackamas Town Center.
Providence Health will receive initial shipments of children doses next week and current patients will be notified of booking options. No walk-ins will be allowed at this time. Providence has identified 10 clinic locations in the Portland metro-area and Yamhill continues to expand as demand rises.
All available appointments with Oregon Health and Science University have been claimed, but will add more appointments as soon as additional doses arrive in Oregon.
Local pharmacies, including Fred Meyer, Costco and Walgreens, are also set to receive children’s vaccines.
-- Alexandra Skores
askores@oregonian.com; 503-221-8073; @AlexandraSkores