Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare is prepping to vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds once FDA gives approval

Like many, 13-year-old Maddy Lavalier has been in distance learning for more than a year. She jokes she has never been so excited to get a shot.

"I’m willing to get as many needles as it takes to see my friends and family again," she said.

Lavalier is one of 7,500 Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare patients the system has identified for the Pfizer vaccine once it is approved for 12 to15-year-olds.

"I’m just missing everyone," she said.

"Our hope is next week or the week after we can start getting these middle schoolers and high schoolers the vaccines they need," said Dr. Madeleine Gagnon, associate medical director of pediatrics for Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare.

Gagnon says even though kids have been considered to be lower risk than adults, vaccinating this age group is just as important.

"We are talking about middle schoolers and high schoolers. They are part of the school system, they are intricate parts of our community. Helping children get vaccinated helps decrease the spread in the community," she said.

As for 13-year-old Lavalier, this shot is about more than the virus.

"Being vaccinated would mean a lot to me. Just being able to see my grandparents, my aunts and uncles and my little cousin who I haven’t been able to hold yet because he was born during the quarantine," she said.