Local pediatricians offers COVID vaccine for young patients

Rochester, New York – Dr. Gregg McLanahan was one of the first pediatricians offices in the community to receive the vaccine. His primary care office in Greece just got the Pfizer vaccine Tuesday.

“They’re not getting it in a place where they don’t their surroundings, they don’t know the people. If they’re getting their vaccine in the office, they know their doctor, they know the nurse giving them the vaccine,” said Dr. McLanahan.

Before the school year begins, pediatricians are encouraging eligible children ages 12 and up to get the shot now. According to Dr. McLanahan, if patients are hesitant, they should have open conversations with their doctors about their doubts.

“This vaccine is relatively new. I don’t think it’s wrong to have some hesitancy and ask questions about that,” he said. “Patients should be well-informed, and if they’re well-informed about these subjects, they can make better decisions for themselves.”

The county reported Tuesday 118 young people tested positive for COVID in the past week, and that three of the cases were severe.

Bob Metcalfe and his wife live in Irondequoit and are first responders. They got the vaccine as soon as they could to keep their twins boys safe. However, after a family trip out of state last month, their six-year-olds developed mild symptoms and tested positive for COVID.

“We did all the things we’re supposed to, and here we are on almost day 20 of hanging at home with the kids in the middle of beautiful summer,” he said. “But we’re super lucky because they were fine. They’ve had worse colds, worse ear infections.”

Metcalfe says his family will still take safety precautions until the twins are able to get their vaccine.

“We still mask when we need to when we’re asked to. We might not like it, the kids may not like it, but at the end of the day we’re trying to do our part to help in any way possible,” said Metcalfe.