GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Brown County Public Health hosted a vaccine clinic for children at the Neville Museum on Tuesday. It’s the second time COVID and flu vaccines were offered to kids ages 5-18 at the museum.
“Any shot in any arm we’re considering a win,” said Public Health Strategist, Claire Paprocki. “Last time, we were able to vaccinate upwards of 55 kiddos. So if we get around the same, that would be great. If not, we’ll still consider it a success.”
In Brown County, children between 5 and 18 make up 17% of the population.
“It’s super important to be able to offer something like this, especially in a central location. So we’re really grateful to our partners at the Neville Museum for offering up a space that’s safe and family friendly and maybe not as intimidating as a doctor’s office or pharmacy,” Paprocki told WTAQ News.
“Whatever side you’re on it, it is what it is. But as a public institution, we are here for the community. We’ve been partnering with public health now since this began,” said Neville Museum Executive Director, Beth Kowalski-Lemke. “To be able to use our location as a central location and offer that service and have the expertise of brown county public health is huge to me as a community stakeholder, as well as the museum director.”
Kowalski-Lemke was there with one of her sons, who was getting his second dose of the COVID vaccine. She hopes that her family can help be part of some kind of solution to dealing with the virus.
“The masks are a barrier in some cases. They protect us, but then you can’t always see expressions and that’s one of the things for me, like I feel like we’ve lost some sort of expression and understanding each other. So the sooner we can get back to some of that, the better,” Kowalski-Lemke said.
As for concerns from public health over the looming Christmas and holiday gathering season, they do exist. But it all comes down to individual comfort and a little bit of common sense.
“We do have concerns, but mostly we’re just encouraging people to follow standard safety protocols and procedures,” Paprocki said. “Maybe consider gathering in a space that’s larger, has proper ventilation, staying home if you feel sick, washing your hands, things like that. We’re at the point where we know people are going to do it, so if you do it, just do it safely and keep everyone healthy.”
