Lane County Public Health officials say parents are snapping up pediatric COVID-19 vaccine appointments as they become available. Vaccinators take care with each child to reduce their fear of shots. But outside the clinics--some families are facing angry, anti-vax protesters.
Alexis Sliwinski arrived at Thurston High School in Springfield Tuesday with her two sons. At the entrance, she said, about 30 protesters started yelling at them.
Once inside, the boys who are 7 and 10, got their shots. After 15 minutes, they left. Sliwinski said that’s when things got scary.
“They were yelling things like, ‘Your mother is a terrible parent! She’s letting the government experiment on your bodies!’ Through the megaphone,” she recalled. “And it wasn’t just yelling anymore, it was screaming. And I heard the F-word several times.”
Sliwinski said she’s heard from other parents who’ve experienced the same hostility. Public Health officials are aware of protesters outside but inside the focus is on safely vaccinating children.
