'Get the vaccine. It doesn't hurt:' Local 12-year-old gets COVID vaccine for birthday

Vaccine sites at Duke, UNC, CVS and Walgreens have had excited kids showing up all morning. Many kids are jumping on the chance to get their COVID vaccine – including one kid who was eager to get the shot on his birthday.

Asa Foster, who turned 12 years old today, couldn't believe his luck that he could get vaccinated on the first day of eligibility.

At the Friday Center in Chapel Hill, 700 appointments were booked on Thursday. Most have been 12 to 15-year-olds.

Asa has a message for other kids his age.

"Get the vaccine. Well first off, it doesn’t hurt. And second off, it’ll help everybody," he said. "And it’ll allow you to see your friends even more often than you do. And maybe sometime soon you’ll be able to take your mask off and not have to wear it."

5- and 7-year-old brothers participate in Pfizer vaccine trial at Duke

Dr. David Wohl, who was on site, wanted to offer assurances to parents that the vaccine is safe.

He said you can expect to see similar side effects in the 12 to 15 age range that we saw in young adults.

Locations, phone numbers to get your COVID shot in central NC

For youth who fall in that age range and want to get vaccinated, there are a lot of options out there now – like CVS and Walgreens.

The Friday Center at UNC prefers you make an appointment first.