Children may receive a COVID vaccine at an Ashland County Health Department family clinic

ASHLAND - Children as young as 5 years old are now eligible for coronavirus vaccines and the Ashland County Health Department is preparing to administer the vaccine.

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The Health Department issued a COVID vaccine update on Nov. 8 that read: “We have a booster clinic set up on gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov. We will be having a family clinic for ages 5-17 (parents can get the vaccine too), Pfizer only from 3 to 6 p.m. on Nov. 17 at the Ashland Kroc Center. Must register at gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov. Weekly booster and first/second dose clinics are listed at gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov.”

Ashland County Health Commissioner Vickie Taylor said the child vaccine is adding another safety measure.

“This vaccine is another layer of protection for individuals and for the community,” said Taylor. “It has been deemed safe and effective by many health professionals including those at children’s hospitals across the state. Videos regarding this can be found on the YouTube channel for the Ohio Department of Health.”

According to the Mayo Clinic website, the vaccine for children ages 5-11 will involve two injections 21 days apart.

Taylor said the County Health Department has had discussions with other agencies concerning the vaccine.

“We have talked with Akron Children’s in Ashland to see if they were going to be giving the vaccines and they will be soon,” she said. “The Kroc Center was gracious enough to offer the space and we think that is a good location for a family clinic. If people cannot make that clinic, we will be scheduling open clinics through the theshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov website. People with questions can call the Health Department at 419-282-4357 to talk to the nursing staff.”

City of Ashland offering free rides to COVID vaccination sites in the county

The city is still offering free rides to COVID vaccination sites in Ashland County. Anyone needing transportation for a scheduled appointment can call 419-207-8240. The vaccine appointment must be scheduled prior to booking the ride.

Although the virus has been at the forefront of the news for nearly two years, Taylor went on to talk about how the virus only added to what her staff has had to deal with on a daily basis.

“As you may imagine, all the other diseases and issues didn’t disappear with COVID, we just added COVID on,” she said. “Although I could say all the staff here is wonderful and hardworking, I particularly want to thank the nursing staff for adding all the vaccine clinics and booster shots to their already busy days. They have really stepped up. Also, our epidemiologists and contact tracers have been busy seven days a week notifying people of cases and possible contact with the COVID virus.”

Despite the seven-days-a-week work schedule, Taylor is grateful for the support.

“We have so many great people supporting us from the Ashland community that makes our long days worth it,” she said. “Thank you, Ashland, for your support and words of encouragement.”

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Children may receive a COVID vaccine at a family clinic on Nov. 17