Teens and the vaccine: an (almost) teen shares her experience
- Category: Coronavirus, Kids' Tips, Health & Wellness
- Posted On:
- Written By: Elise Parrish
Now that 12 to 15 year olds can get the COVID vaccine, a lot of people are wondering whether or not they should get it. For me, it was an easy decision. My parents have been vaccinated for a while, and truthfully I was jealous, because they didn’t have to worry about getting sick any more. One of our family members died from COVID last year so we were always really careful about trying to prevent getting the virus.
Once the mask mandate got lifted, my parents could go into places without masks, but my brother and I still didn’t feel completely comfortable with that. So, when the FDA announced that 12-15 year olds could get vaccinated, I was excited, but a little scared because I didn’t know anyone my age who had got it yet. I waited about a month to get my vaccine just to hear from other people I knew, and what they had to say about it. The good news is that everyone I knew said it was no big deal.
Neither of my parents or any of my grandparents had serious side effects after their vaccines, so I was pretty comfortable with the idea of getting it even while I waited for more young people to get theirs. The thing that made me do it now was knowing I have a few trips coming up later in the summer, and I did not want to get sick on any of them.
Getting the shot was a little scary, because I wasn’t sure how it would affect me. Although I don’t like shots, I am fine getting them as long as I don’t look right at them. It went really fast and felt just like a normal flu shot.
Immediately after the shot I didn’t feel any side effects and went home, ate dinner and went to bed with no issues. The next day my arm was really sore and I had a slight headache, but those were the only two symptoms that I had. Later that night, my headache got a little worse, but felt better when I woke up the next morning.
My advice for other teens thinking about getting the shot is to just do it. It was a big relief for me and my family. Getting back to normal this summer has been so much fun, I don’t want to ever go back to masks and virtual school!