CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) --A 6-year-old from Jefferson Park was one of the first young children in Chicago to get their COVID-19 vaccine Thursday morning.
Amelia Ateca, 6, held her father’s hand as she received her first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Park Ridge.
Her parents had been eagerly awaiting approval of the smaller dose for children ages 5 to 11.
“I was in front of my TV the entire day, watching the live stream of the ACP meeting, waiting for them to have the vote and then waiting for the CDC director to endorse it,” said Alicia Lopez-Ateca, Amelia's mother.
In May of 2020, Amelia was brought to Advocate Children's Hospital because her parents thought she had appendicitis.
"She just kept on declining, declining, declining, and it got to a point that she needed to be intubated," said Lopez-Ateca.
She was diagnosed with the COVID-19-related pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) and spent seven days on a ventilator.
“It was really hard for me,” said Ateca.
Lopez-Ateca said she doesn’t want another parent or child to go through what they did, which is why her daughter was one of the first in her age group to get the vaccine in the Chicago area.
“If there's a preventative measure that you can take, you should be taking it.”
A list of locations offering the COVID-19 vaccine to those ages 5-11 can be found at https://www.vaccines.gov/.
Related
