A Thanksgiving reunion, a trip to Disney, and lots of joyful tears. Here's what pediatricians are seeing as they administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

• It's been over a week since the FDA gave emergency approval for the COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5-11.
• Thousands of kids have been vaccinated. Some doctors say parents and children alike are thrilled.

In the days after Dr. Eric Ball, a pediatrician in Orange County, California, started vaccinating kids ages 5 to 11 against COVID-19, a mother came into his practice. She told Ball that her children hadn't been in close contact with their cousins for nearly two years. One of the cousins was immunocompromised, and the family felt that protecting the child was paramount, even as it was heartbreaking.

For this mother, vaccinating kids meant that her family could celebrate as one again.

"She cried when she told me that they were planning to all be together at Thanksgiving," Ball said.

The FDA approved emergency use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for all kids 5 and older on October 29. Since then, the CDC has recommended the vaccine for the same age group, and thousands of little ones have had their first shots.

That mother isn't the only one overjoyed about the vaccine. Ball said that his small practice has been overrun by requests for the shot. They have four people working just on scheduling appointments and vaccinating 50 to 100 children per day.

"Many of these parents have been waiting eagerly for over a year for the vaccine to be approved for young children, and they are overjoyed that the opportunity is now here," Ball said.

Elation and a big thumbs-up

When it comes to getting the shot, even the kids are on board.

"Unlike many vaccines, most kids are eager to get this one and happily will roll up their sleeves for it," Ball said. "They see this as their best shot to get back to a normal life in a safe way."

Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Children's Hospital in New York, has seen a similar response in her practice.

"Parents and kids are just overjoyed," she told Insider. "They are taking pictures of the kids with their Band-Aids and thumbs-up signs."

Dr. Vidya Mony, a pediatric infectious-disease specialist in San Jose, California, says that doctors' offices and vaccination sites are working hard to make the experience upbeat for the little ones who are still wary of getting a shot.

"They have made it very pediatric friendly and have kept them occupied with different toys and activities - even a scavenger hunt," she said. "Lots of fun goodies are being handed out."

For parents, sweet relief

Mony has seen many parents wiping tears of relief when their child gets the jab.

"They now feel that their child is finally being protected against COVID-19 and they can sleep more peacefully at night," she said.

She's also seen plenty of sweet moments in which plans put on hold by the pandemic suddenly come back to life. One family danced their way out of the office, talking about a trip to Disneyland after the child's second shot. For another family, the celebration was more mundane but just as special.

"One of my patients said to me, 'These kids have been waiting over a year and a half to see their grandparents, and this vaccine is their ticket to hug them,'" Mony said.

For parents who are apprehensive, Mony emphasizes that the vaccine is no longer new. There is a plethora of research supporting its effectiveness, including against the Delta variant, she said. Lots of kids participated in the clinical trials. Although side effects of the vaccine in kids are similar to those adults experience - including fever and fatigue - research on the Pfizer vaccine found that kids were less likely than adults to experience side effects, which is a nice bonus, Mony said. Serious side effects including myocarditis are very, very rare, she said.

"I would recommend all parents to vaccinate their children," Mony said.

Ball has an even more emphatic message: "The vaccine is safe. COVID is not."