URBANDALE, Iowa – Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, families took their kids to get a COVID-19 vaccine and one pharmacist is seeing more demand for the shot.

Some kids like nine-year-old Jai Bhagwat got her first dose.

“I thought it would hurt a lot,” she said. “It went good.”

Others received their second, which comes with a sigh of relief for both kids and parents.

“Especially with the holidays coming up, we’ll certainly see grandma and grandpa and aunts and uncles and cousins and so it’s good for them to be fully vaccinated,” John Maly, a dad from Des Moines, said.

Medicap Pharmacist John Forbes said the upcoming gatherings have given some people the boost they needed to roll up their sleeves.

“People are traveling this weekend and some families are requiring family members before they step in their homes to have the COVID vaccine,’ Forbes said, “and so we’re seeing a lot of people get their first dose because of the holiday season.”

While others have been waiting to get their 5- to 11-year-old’s protected.

“I’m really excited that they can get this done and taken care of now,” Katie Black, a mom from Urbandale, said. “Especially because we’re getting into colder weather. They have indoor activities starting in basketball and dance, and I felt a lot more comfortable with them indoors with groups of kids if they had their shot.”

Children know what getting a shot can do.

“To protect people and your family and yourself,” nine-year-old Abel Maly said.

They are eager to do their part.

“Now that I’ve got the experience for this dose, I’m ready for the second dose so I won’t scream or anything,” Bhagwat said.

While the Medicap in Urbandale will be closed tomorrow for the holiday, it will reopen on Friday to continue vaccinating kids and adults.