Parents and kids from Naperville District 203 and Indian Prairie District 204 schools shared hopeful plans for their future after streaming out of the COVID-19 vaccine clinic for elementary school children at Kennedy Junior High School in Lisle Saturday.
“I was super excited. It does allow me to go back into gymnastics. I really like to do it,” said 7-year-old Caroline Setlur.
“When they announced (the vaccine was available) for 12-year-olds, my daughter cried that she wasn’t old enough,” said Laura Setlur, a physician and mom of Caroline and 5-year-old Jackson from Highlands Elementary School in Naperville.
“It was great. So nice they provided appointments for us. Surprised in a good way. Excited that it got approved and was available in our area” just two weeks after the Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 through 11.
(Mike Mantucca-Naperville Sun)
Seven-year-old Zoe Fosdick said she was eager to get the vaccination because she would be allowed next month to “go to the movies with my dad.”
“Just excited and relieved for her to finally have it and be safe,” Jen Fosdick said. She is looking forward to traveling abroad after her family is fully vaccinated. “We were supposed to go to Paris for my 40th. Hopefully this spring.”
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Ramesh Penugonda said he was also eager to vaccinate his 8-year-old and 10-year-old who attend Young Elementary School in Aurora, so the family “could travel to go to India after postponing a trip this year.
Even school district officials were anticipating some milestones after more students in the district received the vaccine.
“It will keep kids in school,” said Patrick Nolten, assistant superintendent for assessment and accountability at Naperville District 203 School . “If you’ve been exposed to somebody positive and you’re vaccinated and asymptomatic, you’re not required to quarantine.”
Many kids have missed school because they had to quarantine after interacting with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, he said, though the district has seen fewer sick days this year compared to past years “because of masking. It lowered flu rates,” Nolten added.
(Mike Mantucca-Naperville Sun)
(Mike Mantucca-Naperville Sun)
Ellen Ruane said the vaccination is “our best shot” at getting back to normal. “I believe the science. I can breathe easier. My mom is a senior. I worry about protecting all of
us. It’s a good thing for our household,” said Ruane, whose 9- and 10-year-old kids attend Builta School in Bolingbrook.
They were among the constant stream of people going into the school to join hundreds waiting in a long line that snaked through hallways and led to a check-in station in the lunchroom before pouring into another line ending in the gym, where Osco pharmacists administered vaccinations at eight stations serving two families each.
(Mike Mantucca-Naperville Sun)
Yu Sun said she decided to get her 5-year-old vaccinated at the clinic even after realizing that the participants were not maintaining distance. “Too many people (is my) only concern here today,” Sun said. “I think too many people is a little risky. We cannot keep six feet.”
Tiffanie West said the “line was long” but the clinic was “very well run.” She said her 8-year-old had been asking her when they could get the vaccine after she got sick from COVID-19.
Vanessa Sherman called the process “super easy. As soon as they sent out the email (I signed up). They made it as painless as possible. The pharmacists were amazing. He said he didn’t feel it,” Sherman said about 11-year-old Trevor of Meadow Glens Elementary School in Naperville, who walked out with a lab coat, lunch bag and stickers given to all the kids.
(Mike Mantucca-Naperville Sun)
Laura Setlur said it was “very easy to sign up. The only other appointment I could find was 25 minutes away. I heard it booked in a short amount of time.”
All 2,000 available vaccine appointments were taken within 24 hours of the school district’s announcement about the clinic. “The fact they’re offering the clinic is awesome. Definitely as a parent it’s a difficult choice. I’m going to trust the science and experts and not buzz on social media and uninformed people,” Jen Fosdick said, adding that the vaccine gives her “more comfort level. I feel more secure.”
Diane Moca is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.