More than 150 children ages 5-11 vaccinated at Fairfield Middle event

Aside from a few shed tears, the pediatric vaccination event at Fairfield Middle School on Saturday morning ran smoothly with no long lines or wait times.

There were 157 children vaccinated at the clinic, along with 37 adults, according to the Richmond and Henrico Health Districts.

For the Cox family, it was a sigh of relief.

Living in a multi-generational household, there’s been stress about 11-year-old Grant being back in school, and the possibility of exposing his grandmother, who’s in her 70s.

“A lot of his friends are going home in a quarantine, so we've been really panicked,” said Grant’s mother, Pam, who also got her booster shot at the clinic on Saturday. “But now we feel good that he’s gotten his first shot.”

Grant, a sixth-grader at Fairfield Middle, said he didn’t even feel the shot go into his arm.

“We’re happy that he’s re-socialized now in school but we’ve just been really nervous about him bringing it home because of my mother,” Cox said. “We’ve been waiting for it and wanted to get it as soon as we could.”

While sitting in the observation area with others who had just received their shot, the two talked about where they would go on vacation once Grant is fully vaccinated.

As children received their shots in the school gymnasium, Alice the therapy dog trotted around to check up on everyone.

Since pediatric COVID-19 vaccines for 5-11 year-olds became available locally Nov. 4, more than 2,000 Henrico children under 11 have received one dose, according to the Virginia Department of Health vaccine dashboard.

The RHHD estimates that about half of children in Henrico and Richmond will get vaccinated through their pediatricians, according to spokeswoman Cat Long.

The next special pediatric clinics will take place Nov. 20 at Elko Middle School, 5901 Elko Road, Sandston, and George Wythe High School, 4314 Crutchfield Street, Richmond, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Appointments for these and other clinics can be found at vax.rchd.com or by calling 804-205-3501.

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Anna Bryson is the Henrico Citizen's education reporter and a Report for America corps member. Make a tax-deductible donation to support her work, and RFA will match it dollar for dollar.