Hundreds of developmentally disabled adults and children received the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday during a clinic hosted by the Special Olympics at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg, who helped organize the event, said the goal was to make special needs families as comfortable as possible.
"It can be a very overwhelming time, so we wanted to design something that would be inviting and fun and welcoming and really just tamp down the anxiety that might accompany getting a vaccine," Ellenberg said.
A parent who attended the clinic, Usha Kikkeri, said she was relieved her daughter Malika was finally able to receive the shot. Like many special needs children, Malika is at heightened risk from COVID-19, and has stayed mostly indoors over the past year.
"(Malika) has missed out on that a lot," Kikkeri said. "So this vaccine was important for her to go out into the world."
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