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Vaccination efforts underway for Utah kids 12 and up

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SANDY, Utah — On Friday, Utah children between the ages of 12 and 15 became eligible to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and in most cases, without having to wait.

READ: Masks still required at Smith's, Utah's largest grocery chain

Many kids showed up at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy, some whose parents had already made their appointment. Others simply showed up and walked in to receive their first dose.

With Friday being a distance-learning day, it was the perfect time for parents to get their children vaccinated. Teens like Audrey Derringer were 100 percent in favor of doing what they could to keep themselves healthy and help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

"I feel like it’s kind of respecting the other people who may not be able to get it, so for us to get it it might be helping them too,” said Derringer.

WATCH: Parents, teachers weigh in on mask mandate ending in schools

Deann Knobloch's 12-year-old son, August, wasn’t overly excited about getting a shot Friday, but he says the process was pretty smooth.

"It means that we can go back to normal life and not worry about having to quarantine anymore," said Knobloch.

Deann said her family has been fine wearing masks and abiding by the social distancing rules over the past year. However, she says the sooner all of us can get back to normal, as safely as possible, that is very much their goal.