Families look forward to freedom that comes with kids COVID-19 vaccine

At a CVS pharmacy in Fort Worth, the Howe twins huddled with their mother Monday night near a booth designated for children receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

The family’s excitement was palpable as they waited for the pharmacist to bring out their syringes. The 11-year-olds jumped to their feet and wondered who should compete first.

“Is this your best moment as a mom?” Asked Stephen Howe.

Laura Howe patted him on the back and laughed.

“Yes, it is one of them,” she said.

Rachel and Stephen Howe are among the million American children eligible for Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 admission last week after federal regulators gave final approval to children ages 5-11 to have access to protection the coronavirus. The emergency approval for the age group came almost a full year after the adult syringes were approved.

Stephen and Rachel Howe show off their COVID-19 vaccine patches in their Coppell home after receiving their vaccinations on Monday.(Robert W. Hart / special article)

For many families with children in this age group, vaccination means more opportunities to return to a pre-pandemic lifestyle.

Laura Howe got the first dates she could find for her twins, the last unvaccinated members of her household about 35 miles from her Coppell home. After waiting months for approval, she said she didn’t care about the trip.

“I remember when I got my first vaccine, it was a really emotional moment for me and I even cried because it just opened up opportunities that weren’t there before,” she said. “They just didn’t have that emotional and physical security.”

After choosing an arm (left for Stephen because it would least interfere with his trombone playing, and right for Rachel because she is left-handed) and given the vaccine, the twins sat down for a brief observation period.

“I’m happy to just feel safer in school,” Stephen said, rubbing his arm every now and then to make sure it wasn’t too sore the next day.

The twins agreed that one of the most exciting prospects of getting vaccinated is not wearing masks. They regularly wear N95 masks in their sixth grade classes and have evidence that they worked – both children were in close contact with a student who had COVID-19 and neither tested positive.

“I can feel a lot safer now that I’ve been vaccinated,” Rachel said.

Rachel said she can take off her mask in her dance and piano lessons. And in their church, the twins now have the opportunity to sing instead of hum, which is recommended for unvaccinated parishioners.

But Laura Howe said she was most excited that her children will now be able to do “normal sixth grade” things.

While the Howe family has traveled together a few times over the past year, the twins are still largely confined to family time.

Rachel Howe is reading at her bedroom desk after receiving her COVID-19 vaccination.Rachel Howe is reading at her bedroom desk after receiving her COVID-19 vaccination.(Robert W. Hart / special article)

“It will be nice to stay with friends again,” Rachel said. “Now it’s nice not to have to worry.”

Stephen is excited to finally use his entertainment venue Main Event gift card that he got just before the pandemic and go on vacation with his family. The kids can look forward to a carefree Christmas with the family in North Carolina.

“Now only count the days until this recording is really fully active, and then the second recording in three weeks,” said Laura Howe with a smile.

‘I’m back baby!’

Eight-year-old Quinn Jones told her mother that when she and her twin brother got their COVID-19 vaccination, she would run into the street and scream for joy.

“She always says, ‘As soon as a vaccine is out, Mom, I’ll get it. I’ll run into the street and just scream, ‘I’m back baby!’ with arms outstretched, ”said Tori Jones. “She is social. She is ready to be with people and do her thing again. “

Jones signed up Quinn and her brother Max for a study of Moderna’s pediatric vaccine this spring, and both children received their second vaccination about a month ago. But Tori Jones didn’t know if her children were given a real injection or a placebo.

Tori Jones is standing in their living room in Dallas with her children Quinn and Max, both 8 years old.  Quinn and Max recently participated in a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine study.Tori Jones is standing in their living room in Dallas with her children Quinn and Max, both 8 years old. Quinn and Max recently participated in a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine study.(Emil Lippe / special article)

When it became clearer that Pfizer’s pediatric syringe would be approved, she took her children for an antibody test. Quinn had received the vaccine, Max hadn’t.

When Pfizer’s injection was approved for younger children on November 2, Tori Jones had to make a decision: Moderna offered the vaccine to children given a placebo, but Max was able to get a Pfizer injection faster.

Ultimately, she decided to keep her son in the process. Tori Jones was a nurse for nearly 20 years, and her husband is a doctor in the emergency room at Parkland Memorial Hospital who works with COVID-19 patients on a daily basis. The couple agreed that it was best to keep Max in the process.

“Helping science and helping other people has been a huge plus for us,” she said.

While Quinn is protected, the family has agreed to take the same precautions until Max is fully vaccinated. Her father’s experience in the hospital had a huge impact on how careful they were during the pandemic.

“One night he intubated a 40-year-old man who looked really healthy, was married and had two children,” said Tori Jones. “And he says, ‘That’s me.’ It could be anyone. “

Max Jones, 8, rocks with his sister Quinn in their Dallas home.Max Jones, 8, rocks with his sister Quinn in their Dallas home.(Emil Lippe / special article)

Her family was close to some of the virus ‘most devastating effects: The twins’ great-aunt and uncle died around Thanksgiving two weeks outside of COVID-19 last year.

Tori Jones is also concerned about the possibility of her children developing multisystem inflammatory syndrome, a sometimes serious COVID-19 complication in children.

“There are some strangers [with a trial vaccine], but we know what happens to COVID, ”said Tori Jones. “The risk for us of taking the vaccine was lower than the risk of getting COVID.”

For the Jones twins, the COVID-19 vaccine means that they will again have the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities (gymnastics for Quinn and basketball for Max) and to have play dates with friends again. Her family was the most conservative of her friends when it came to returning to a more normal lifestyle that was tough on the children at times.

“I know they have friends who went to birthday parties or did other things that we didn’t,” said Tori Jones. “We just keep talking to them about it, well, that’s the choice we made for our family and we just don’t want you to get sick.”

Twins Max and Quinn Jones give a thumbs up after shooting their Moderna COVID-19 through a clinical trial.Twins Max and Quinn Jones give a thumbs up after shooting their Moderna COVID-19 through a clinical trial.(Courtesy Tori Jones)

Quinn said she wanted to go to Disney World when Max gets his second shot. Max desperately wants to go to the Pinstack, a bowling and entertainment venue, when he’s fully vaccinated next month.

“They have a lot of arcade games,” he said, and his eyes widened at the view, despite the fatigue he was battling from his first COVID-19 shot a few days ago.

Quinn Jones, 8, jumps into the back yard of her Dallas home.  Quinn Jones, 8, jumps into the back yard of her Dallas home. “I’m back baby!” she exclaimed. After receiving the Moderna vaccine, she is very much looking forward to living the way it was before the pandemic. (Emil Lippe / special article)

As an added bonus, her mom has promised to throw them a special birthday party to catch up on their special day in October.

“I’ve always hoped it would [the pediatric vaccine] wanted to get out before then, ”said Tori Jones. “I said, ‘Let’s just wait until December when Max can get a second shot, let’s wait a week or so, and we’re going to have a huge birthday party. We’re inviting your whole class to a big bang. ‘”

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