Students 16 and older excitedly rushed to book their appointments with hopes of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible and wishes of a normal summer.
Junior Liam Avelluto said he received his vaccine at the Columbus Expo Center. He got the Pfizer vaccine, which is the only available vaccine for those under 18 years old, he added.
“It was very easy to schedule an appointment at the Expo Center for my whole family, and we scheduled as soon as we could,” he said. “The vaccination process took only 30 minutes.”
Avelluto said he was a little nervous when he saw someone have a bad reaction to the vaccine.
“We all sat in our cars after we received the vaccine because they make you wait 15 minutes to see how you react to the shot initially,” he explained. “Someone honked their car horn, and an EMT rushed over to put them into an ambulance. It was really scary.”
However, the only side effect Avelluto said he had was a sore arm.
Junior Erin Winchell said she also had a sore arm from her Pfizer shot, which she got from the high school.
“I think it was super convenient that the school had a vaccine clinic because it was easy for them to schedule my vaccine during the school day,” she said.
Winchell added that she is glad to help protect others and herself by getting the vaccine and is excited to travel and hang out with larger groups.
Junior William Durishin also said he is happy to have his vaccine because of the safety that comes with it.
“Now that I have my vaccine, I am excited to have a somewhat normal summer,” he said.
Durishin explained that he was on a waiting list for the vaccine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital for months, and they called him once a spot was open.
Durishin said he had a bad reaction to the vaccine that made him stay home from school the next day.
“My side effects were quite intense,” he said. “I woke up the next morning with a 102 degree fever, chills and body aches all over and an awful tension headache.”
Still, Durshin said that everyone should get vaccinated.
“I believe that everyone should take their own personal responsibility in getting the vaccine, and the government’s role should be to encourage people to get them as much as possible,” he added.
Like Durishin, junior Gretchen Sahr also had a bad reaction to her vaccine shot.
“I had really bad side effects about 12 hours after my shot,” she said. “I had flu-like symptoms including nausea, chills and body aches. However, about 30 hours after, I felt perfectly fine.”
Sahr wanted to get her Pfizer vaccine immediately after its availability was announced.
“My family tried to schedule my shot the day we found out it was available, so it was a little difficult to find a place close to home,” she said. “We found a CVS in Springfield that had available appointments.”
She said people should be vaccinated to help fight the virus.
“Everyone should get the vaccine that is able to for their health and the health of others, as well as doing your part to help the pandemic,” she said.
