SABATTUS, Maine — After Pfizer announced Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine was safe and effective for kids ages 5 to 11 years old, some Maine parents felt a sense of hope while others rejected the news.
"I was excited. I was like, 'okay, when can we do this? Let me know because I'm going to sign her up,'" said Kelly Thompson, mother of 12-year-old Isaiah and six-year-old Isabella. "It's a little bit less stress on me because I'll know that she'll have a little bit of a safeguard at that point."
Kids under age 12 are not yet eligible for any COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA and CDC have not yet approved one for children that young.
When Isaiah got his COVID-19 vaccine, Thompson said Isabella asked when she could get hers.
"She was holding his hand, so yeah. And then of course, she asked, 'how come she's not getting one?' and I said she wasn't old enough yet," said Thompson. "Yeah, it was a little rough, but I told her, 'don't worry, when when you go and have it done, I'll make sure Isaiah is with you, too.'"
The next step is for the FDA and CDC's advisory panels to evaluate the data that Pfizer has collected, and decide if they will approve the shot to be used in kids ages 5 to 11 and in what amounts under an emergency use authorization.
Other parents do not share Thompson's sense of relief about the news.
"I just feel it's still really new to the world and I'd like to see how well it works for others first," said Brooke Ritchie, an Auburn woman who has a one-year-old and a six-month-old.
"Generally speaking, the side effects from vaccines that occur, usually occur in the first couple of weeks after taking it. Side effects from vaccines, even these newer vaccines, don't occur months or years after taking them," said Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah during a press briefing on September 15. "What's the bigger risk out there? COVID or the vaccines? There's no question in my mind that the bigger risk is COVID, and not the vaccine."
"It's just one of those things where I wanted to feel like the whole family now has been vaccinated. I don't have to worry about it," said Thompson.