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Group of McCall teens find new bonding activity: getting vaccinated at St. Luke's

Left to Right: Fin Denning, Miles Denning, Adeline Bush, Lilly Mihlfeith, Mia Rider, Keira Rider, Regan Curtin (Gabi Green not pictured)
By Laura Crawford, News and Community
May 25, 2021

Early in 2021, there were many adults eager to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

But teenagers who wanted to do their part, they had to wait.

When a group of McCall-Donnelly students got their opportunity in May, they made the most of it by getting the COVID-19 vaccine together — all eight of them.

“The sooner we reach herd immunity the quicker this whole pandemic and lockdowns will be over, and I wanted to contribute to that,” said Miles Denning, a freshman.

On May 12, the FDA and CDC expanded the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include those 12 to 15 and older.

St. Luke’s Health System immediately began distributing Pfizer to all it’s locations to serve this younger population. This included St. Luke’s McCall, which had been only offering Moderna for those ages 18 and older.

With the support of their parents, the group of teenagers decided to get their COVID-19 vaccines together after school last week at St. Luke’s clinic in McCall.

Payette Lakes Middle School seventh grader Regan Curtin said: “It’s more fun to do it as a group. You don’t feel as nervous when you have friends around.”

St. Luke’s Clinic – Payette Lakes Family Medicine began offering the COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents age 12 and older on May 13. Walk-ins are accepted for vaccines from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can also call 208-634-2225 for a same day appointment or schedule an appointment online through St. Luke’s myChart or by calling 208-381-9500.

Parents or legal guardians need to provide consent and need to attend the appointment with their child.

“I wanted to get it early on because I didn’t want to make my friends and family sick and I wanted to keep myself healthy,”said seventh grader Adeline Bush.

“I got the vaccine because I don’t want to wear a mask and I want to be safe,” freshman Gabi Green said. "If you get vaccinated, we can actually do our sports next year and have events that we didn’t get to do this year.”



About The Author

Laura Crawford works in the Communications and Marketing department at St. Luke's.