Here is the breaking latest news from the open day of junior vaccinations with Pfizer’s mRna vaccine, those dedicated to adolescents aged 12 to 16 years. Saturday and Sunday 12 and 13 June, in the 43 vaccination points distributed throughout the Lazio region, there was the first, online booking as usual. Start scheduled for 8, but already early in the morning the first excited families were already in the waiting room.
Only on Saturday we were expecting 480 girls and boys, in our clinics, those of the Bambino Gesù di San Paolo, me and my five pediatricians and vaccinator colleagues: only ten missed the appointment, the other 470 arrived, very punctual. And another 480 were expected on Sunday.
Covid, Villani: “The 12-16 year-old vaccination protects children and reduces the circulation of the virus”
And serene, few doubts and a great desire to return to a life of holidays, going out with friends, mornings at the beach, afternoons together without the fear of having to count to avoid crowds. “To return to normality”, “To return to hug us”, “We start living again” or simply “DAJE”: these are some of the phrases that our alescents left us on the poster we had prepared to encourage them to express their emotions , or doubts and worries.
Many arrived with mum and dad. “I do it for my grandfather”, says Marco, face and voice as a child, but with a maturity higher than his 13 years old, when he adds: “I will celebrate his 80th birthday that he should have celebrated on Monday, if Covid does not. had prevented “.
And then there is Giovanna, 14, who convinced her mother, still a little hesitant, to accompany her to the Vaccinal Center because “the fear of getting sick is greater than that of the needle”. “I want to go out with my friends, I want to go to the disco”, admits Francesco, impatient to take back his life and recover what he defines “lost months”.
Months of lockdown, difficult for everyone, but also and above all for teenagers. With the pandemic, cases of hardship and frailty among the very young have amplified, with an increase in cases of suicides, self-harm, anxiety crises, depression. Among them is Veronica, her eyes dull, as she enters the vaccination room with her dad. A thirteen year old in a child’s body, which seems even smaller than her age due to extreme thinness. Veronica is in fact one of the many victims of the pandemic parallel to the virus, affected like many peers by an eating disorder, more precisely by anorexia nervosa. “This damn virus has already hurt us too much”, says the father as we vaccinate Veronica, “we hope to defeat it once and for all”.
Great adhesion and enthusiasm, few doubts and hesitations. I was expecting more questions, also in light of the change in vaccination strategy indicated by the government or by the position taken by other countries. Instead, the boys entered determined. The recurring question they asked me was: “Confirmed the second dose in three weeks?” And then say goodbye: “I’m glad I did it”, “Finally vaccinated”, “Thank you”. And turning to their peers they left a dedication on a panel: “Don’t be afraid”, “it doesn’t hurt”, “get vaccinated and don’t make a fuss”. This weekend the teenagers showed determination, a sense of responsibility and above all a great desire to take back their lives in their own hands. Congratulations guys!
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