Like most parents, Dr. Casey Mann and his wife, Hirut, would do anything to protect their kids.
So, when kids ages 12 to 15 became eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in May 2021, the couple didn’t hesitate to sign up their daughters – Gabrielle and Brooke – to receive the lifesaving vaccine as soon as possible.
“We want to do everything we can to protect them, because COVID-19 is so dangerous,” said Dr. Mann, a family medicine physician at Tidelands Health Family Medicine at Pawleys Island. “We definitely want to do whatever we can to protect them. We wanted to just make sure they were safe.”
And the teen girls were pretty excited, too.
“After the vaccine, I can actually do stuff we weren’t able to do before,” Gabrielle said, adding she’s eager to hang out with her friends again.
“Yeah, when we do hang out, we’ve had to be outside and six feet away with a mask on,” Brooke said.

Less than 48 hours after ages 12 to 15 became eligible for the vaccine, Gabrielle and Brooke overcame their nervousness about needles and took a step toward living their lives with less fear and more fun by getting their first vaccine dose at Tidelands Health.
“I’m looking forward to spending time with my friends and going back to school without fear of people having their masks on,” Gabrielle said.

The girls were the last of the Mann family to get the vaccine. Dr. Mann and Hirut, as well as their three older children – Matthew, 21, Marcos, 19, and Michael, 17 – already had received the Pfizer vaccine as soon as they became eligible. None experienced any of the minor side effects, another fact that made the Manns comfortable with their daughters getting the vaccine.
“They have really been isolated, and they want to get back to seeing their friends,” Dr. Mann said. “When we told Gabrielle we were going to get the vaccine, she said, ‘Wooo!’”
Want to get vaccinated? Stop by a Tidelands Health regional vaccination site. Go to tidelandshealth.org/vaccine for more information.