Best Friends Unite Against COVID-19

Besties united earlier today at the Community Vaccination Clinic provided by Sierra View Medical Center and Imperial Ambulance, in partnership with Tulare County. 12-year-olds, Rory and Sadie, signed up to receive the vaccine when they heard it was available to their age group. This afternoon, they rolled up their sleeves and received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, which recently was approved for use on those 12 years of age and older.

“I’ve been wanting the vaccine,” said Rory, a 6th grader at Buckley Elementary. She shared that, “I just don’t want to be sick or make anyone sick.” Bestie, Sadie, a 6th grader at Pioneer Middle School, felt the same and both said they felt good after receiving the vaccine.

And the vaccination date was twice as nice because Rory’s mother, Saturn Macomber, and Sadie’s stepmother, Jacqueline Verduzco Alanis, happen to be lifelong friends. Jacqueline, lab technician at Porterville College, received the vaccine earlier in the year, and Saturn decided to join her daughter in receiving the vaccine herself.

Receiving the vaccine was something Saturn, a local educator, had been nervous about. “By Rory being so excited and wanting to get the vaccine,” she says, "I felt motivated to also get it." Seeing that her own best friend, Jacqueline, trusted the vaccine enough to sign her stepdaughter up for it also helped Saturn make the decision for herself and Rory. “I wanted to get it before her, just to put myself at ease. Us doing this together made me feel better,” she says.

“I’ve been waiting for it to be approved for her age group,” says Jacqueline. “It’s a relief to see my best friend and our girls all get vaccinated on the same day!”

Rory and Sadie mentioned they were heading straight for iced coffee as a reward for receiving the vaccine. They many things together, but a lot of the time, their activities are virtual because of the pandemic. As part of the Girl Scouts, Troop 638, their motto is “Be prepared,” a motto they both lived out today when they prepared to help make the world a safer place.

If you, too, are interested in helping your child become vaccinated, you may read the latest information about COVID-19 vaccinations for adolescent by visiting http://cdc.gov/covid19

For the latest vaccination schedule for the Porterville Veterans Memorial Building, please visit www.sierra-view.com/COVIDvaccines