12-year-old Baltimore girl shares her experience getting COVID-19 vaccine
Tilly #Tilly
When it comes to people getting their shots, a number of people who are at least partially vaccinated are as young as 12-years old. About 800 12- to 15-year-olds have been vaccinated in Baltimore City over the past five days and health officials want to pick up the pace.
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One Baltimore city 12-year-old was determined to get the shot as soon as possible.
“I definitely get very nervous like when I get the flu shot. I don’t know why, I’ve gotten it every single year,” Tilly Bruno said.
Tilly got her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine a few days ago. Besides a bit of apprehension beforehand, she’s excited to know she’s a step closer to being fully vaccinated and all that will mean in the months ahead.
“Some of my classmates got vaccinated as well, so we’re able to hang out more and do more fun activities together and definitely going to the pool this year. I’m very excited about that,” she said.
Tilly is now one of the 2,130 12- to 15-year-olds in Baltimore City who have gotten a first dose of the vaccine since it was authorized for the age group less than two weeks ago.
The City Health Department is working on an outreach plan, in partnership with Baltimore City Schools, to grow that number as quickly as possible.
“For us, it was an easy choice,” said Tilly’s father, Dr. Richard Bruno.
Bruno is a physician. He knows that parents sharing their experiences and reasons for getting their kids vaccinated will be an essential tool in the process.
“We want to share it with everybody. We want everybody to know that, look, it’s safe, it’s effective and it’s our ticket out of this mess,” Bruno said. “For the most part, children haven’t gotten very sick if they get a coronavirus infection, however, it’s still feasible that they should pass it in to a grandparent or pass it on to somebody else. So, I think it’s really important that their immune systems ramp up and be able to fight off the coronavirus infection should they get it right away.”
Tilly described mild symptoms after her first shot.
“I was very tired and I remember thinking I’m probably going to go to bed soon,” Tilly said.
She’s looking forward to a summer packed full with activities she didn’t get to do last year, like trips and summer camp. But she says it’s about more than that.
“It’s not just for yourself. It’s also for the millions of other people who sacrifice themselves to prove that this vaccine works,” she said.
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