ODESSA, Texas — A whole new line of defense is here to fight COVID-19: children.
12-15 year olds are now eligible for the Pfizer vaccine and hospitals have been anticipating this approval.
"We are now actively working, both with the pediatric practices locally and especially with the schools to make vaccine available," Russell Meyers, Midland Memorial Hospital CEO said.
So what's the benefit?
"Adding children into this mix is super important because it allows us to get more of that population, it reduces exposure, so once we get more people to get vaccinated then it's better for everything, for herd immunity, it's better for the elderly people, the people that can't get it, just like we believe with all the other vaccines," said Hector Garcia, Medical Center Hospital pediatric hospitalist.
And I know what you're thinking: Kids aren't impacted as harshly by the virus.
But doctors say they can still be carriers.
"We have basically a pool of children un-vaccinated, spreading the virus amongst themselves, not getting very sick, but able to produce a mutation that can become much more serious," said Dr. Lawrence Wilson, MMH VP of medical affairs.
This is something doctors hope can be avoided as more age groups get vaccinated and we inch closer to herd immunity.
"We as pediatricians want to keep promoting and it's to get them back into their social routine, to get them back into the schools where we can actually see them, where we can make sure that they're healthy and they're safe," Dr. Garcia said.
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In the link below you can find all the regional locations where your kids 12-15 can get a vaccine.