Teens say anti-vaccine protesters heckled them while getting COVID shots in Oregon

Teenagers at an Oregon high school said they were heckled by anti-vaccine protesters when they showed up to get their shots for COVID-19.

Bend High School is among the Central Oregon schools that are hosting voluntary vaccine clinics in order to ramp up vaccination efforts for teenagers, The Oregonian reported.

A nearby church called police Thursday after anti-vaccine protesters gathered at the site to heckle students, according to The Associated Press. The group dispersed after authorities were called.

Bend Senior High School student Sophie Haney said she went to the vaccination clinic and saw protesters before she got her shot, KTVZ reported.

“When I was driving to school this morning I saw probably nine people holding signs saying that the vaccines had aborted fetus cells in them or that we’re not test rabbits,” Haney said.

Student Camille Lentz also told the station she saw protesters.

“Some of them were like little rhymes that said ‘Don’t get poked,” Lentz said. “Some of them just said, ‘No.’”

COVID-19 cases have been surging in Oregon, prompting Gov. Kate Brown to extend the state’s COVID-19 emergency order for 60 days.

And with older people getting vaccinated at a higher rate than young adults, hospitals are see more cases of young people with COVID, OPB reports.

Teenagers comprise the lowest-vaccinated group in Deschutes County, where Bend is located, and as of April 18, 4% of people ages 19 or younger had gotten their first COVID-19 shot, The Associated Press reported.

Vaccines are currently approved for people ages 16 and older.

Younger people are more likely to be affected by COVID-19 variants, said Albert Noyes, a pharmacist with Mosaic Medical, which is running the clinics, according to The Oregonian.

“I think it’s excellent timing,” Noyes said of the vaccination clinics.

Minors age 15 and older have access to medical services in Oregon without parental consent, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

As of April 29, Oregon has more than 183,000 coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic and at least 2,491 deaths, according the agency.

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