LAFAYETTE, La. — Health officials at the Oschner Lafayette General vaccination site were thrilled to see how many people showed up to get their vaccines on Monday morning, but they were even more pleased with the number of teenagers that showed up.
"We're seeing sixteen year olds and up coming through," says Karen Wyble, leader of the vaccination clinical. "Many of them with their parents actually, so that is showing a lot of support for these children."
Wyble says that although teens are less likely to suffer from sever disease if they contract the virus, they can still carry it.
"For our young people... it's not so much about you, but it's about those that you will be around. Your family, your friends and your elderly," says Wyble. "Let's create heard immunity with this vaccine so that we can halt the virus, and the only way to do that is with this vaccine."
Wyble encourages teens who are eligible to get the vaccine to talk to their parents and friends about it, as it not only helps stop the spread, but shows a step towards getting back to normal for this group who have missed out on so much in the past year.
"Their senior proms, football games, all of the things that they have worked so hard for, and that mean so much to them at this age," says Wyble. "If they want to get back to having some sense of that, then we need the vaccine."
The Heymann Center next to Oschner Lafayette General Hospital will be open and administering vaccines to residents who have registered online until Thursday, April 1st.
To register for your vaccine, click here.
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