Jackson Co. Expo Vaccination Site begins giving out pediatric vaccines

MEDFORD, Ore. — For the first time, parents now have the option of vaccinating their children against COVID-19 at the Jackson County Expo Vaccination Site.

The vaccines are available for children aged 5 to 11-years-old.

“There are about 28 million kids between the ages of 5 and 11 in the United States, 337,000 of those are in Oregon,” said Jonathan Modie with the Oregon Health Authority.

Modie says parents who choose to get their children vaccinated are helping with stopping the spread of COVID-19.

“[It’s] really important that these vaccines be made available to 5 to 11-year-olds, it’s important to note that they can get sick and we have had deaths in Oregon among kids within that age group.”

He says not only will the pediatric vaccine help protect children from COVID – it will help the state combat the pandemic. “We know the vaccines can build a level of immunity that could potentially spill over into protecting someone from a new variant,” he said.

Though the pediatric vaccines are just being offered locally, children in other parts of the state have already been getting vaccinated.

Modie says over 74,000 children are vaccinated thus far, meaning nearly a quarter of the children in the state have gotten their COVID shots.

“High volume vaccination sites in southern Oregon, central Oregon, eastern Oregon, Portland metro area — we encourage folks to go to those events, they are free, they don’t have to have insurance, they can drive up, they can walk up and get a shot,” Modie said.

If you’d like to get your child or yourself vaccinated, the vaccination site at the expo is located at Gate 1.5.

It’s open Monday through Thursday from 12 – 6, and on Sundays from 11 – 4.

The site will be closed December 23rd – 26th due to the holidays.

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