Historian Brooke Newman on the Front Lines of COVID Vaccination

After conducting COVID vaccine clinical trials with teenagers, Moderna is now opening up doses to children younger than 12 years old.

Earlier in the week, the company announced it would be enrolling approximately 6,750 pediatric participants in the U.S. and Canada ages 6 months to less than 12 years.

Richmond-based mom and history professor, Brooke Newman, immediately jumped at the opportunity to volunteer her 10-year-old daughter, Simone Smithers.

"This is a chance for us to actually participate in helping to end the pandemic," Newman said.

Smithers's daughter said she hates needles but is eager to help.

"I feel like it's really important," Smithers's daughter said. "Because if I do it, then it helps everybody in the world. And also because it also helps my safety.”

Newman said they researched the vaccine trial thoroughly and weighed the pros and cons.

"The vaccine has been highly effective, and it's already lowering the rate of infection and transmission. And it's also helping people have less severe reactions to COVID," she said. "I think that the benefits of being involved in something like this, and helping to ensure that there is a safe vaccine for kids outweigh the risks at this point, particularly for her and her age group."

Both she and Simone want to get back to school — as her 10-year-old describes having to stay at home all the time as "prison."