McHenry Co. Teens Who Opted For COVID Vaccine Share Perks

Press release from the McHenry County Health Department:

June 7, 2021

It has been four weeks since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for youth 12 and older, and McHenry County teens who became eligible to receive their vaccination are taking advantage of the opportunity.

The decision to get vaccinated was a no-brainer for 13-year-old Katherine Pflueger, who is on her way to being fully vaccinated. Katherine is looking forward to being fully vaccinated in the next two weeks because she sees it as a way to keep others safe and enjoy the gathering and socializing she missed out on during the last summer season.

“Getting vaccinated will prevent other people from getting the virus and allow you to do more things over the summer break,” Katherine said. “You can go out with friends without getting the virus, or you can go to beaches.”

Jenny Pflueger, Katherine’s mother, said the family had to postpone a yearly trip to their cottage in Wisconsin last summer because just about everyone in their family has a condition that makes them high risk for severe illness, and they were unwilling to take the chance.

That will not be the case this year thanks to the vaccine.

“This year we are looking forward to lots of hugs, lots of food and lots of pierogis,” Jenny said.

Having peace of mind about reducing the risk of getting and spreading COVID-19 by vaccinating our youth are all positive benefits of vaccinating, said Dr. Laura Buthod, licensed pediatrician and MCDH medical advisor. Isolation and lack of classroom learning have negatively impacted students, both mentally and academically. The key to getting them back on track is vaccination.

“Our history of safety with childhood vaccines, and our current safety experience with the 170 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that have been given, allow me to unconditionally recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for all children 12 years and up. My hope is the freedoms the vaccine provides will allow children the opportunities they need to grow and develop normally,” Buthod said.

Much like adults who are fully vaccinated, teens are able to gather in groups with other people who are fully vaccinated without a mask and can skip quarantine if they’ve been in contact with a person who tests positive for COVID-19. And for students, skipping quarantine means they can remain in school, sports and other extracurricular activities unless they become ill.

Parents should avoid waiting to vaccinate their children as older school-aged children continue to drive the positive cases in McHenry County, Buthod said. And while the COVID-19 disease is less serious in children, there are enough children experiencing symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue and foggy thinking for more than two months that children’s hospitals around the country have opened specialized post-COVID-19 clinics to treat cases.

“Our youth need to act now,” Buthod said. “We must remember that the approved Pfizer vaccine is a two-dose series, spread out by three weeks. Thus, it takes a minimum of five weeks to be fully immunized. With summer sports camps and vacations happening soon for most families, the sooner their kids are vaccinated, the sooner they can feel safer doing their normal activities.”

MCDH-run clinics offer walk-in vaccinations and vaccinations by appointment. Anyone 17 or younger is eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine. A parent must accompany youth ages 17 and younger to the clinic, a proof of birthday is required. For more information about how to get children who are 12 and older vaccinated, please visit https://bit.ly/MCDHCOVIDVaxLoc or call the MCDH COVID-19 Call Center at (815) 334-4045.

This press release was produced by the McHenry County Health Department. The views expressed here are the author’s own.