Hi, Everyone! You probably don’t know this, but my picture is already on this website. When I was two, my mom wrote a blog post about how she wished that something called herd immunity would protect me from whooping cough. But because people wouldn’t vaccinate she had to keep me home even on Easter when she wanted to go to church. You should go read what my mom wrote back then. It covers some important points.
Well now I am 10, and guess what? I had to stay in the house again, and the problem is I remember it this time. And you probably had to stay home, too. And the reason was the same. People had to protect themselves from getting sick. It was hard on my family back when I was really little, and it has been really hard for us again these past two years.
I really want to talk to other kids about how we can make this go away, and that is for everyone to get our COVID-19 vaccines. But I also know that us kids don’t like to get shots, so we might not want to or we might think it’s scary. Don’t worry. I was scared too at first! First, I want to tell you some reasons I think it is important for us to get these shots, and then I will give some of my best calming tips which work most of the time.
You and I are both probably tired of having to do stuff at home. For me, it was fun for the first week. Ok, and then I got bored. My parents were all stressed out. My school was all stressed out. Probably you and I were stressed. This is not good for me or you either, right? I think you and I want to go outside without being like, “Do you have COVID-19?” So if we don’t do anything this will be our life for eternity! I miss having no masks. I miss going to school without social distancing and other stuff. I miss not having to worry that me or my friends will get sick with COVID. Getting the vaccine is the only way to stop COVID. The long and short of it is get the vaccine when you can.
So, because I got sick as a baby, I sometimes have to get more medical tests than your average kid. Sometimes they hurt, so I’ve got some tips that may not be foolproof, but I will try to help the best I can.
- If you stress out about it beforehand it will be more painful than the shot. Seriously, your fears can run away with you and you’ll feel terrible.
- To prevent that you can think about the feeling of relief (or sometimes ice cream) afterwards. It helps to focus on the future, not the present.
- If you’re still worrying about it, remember it’s very short, and It will be over soon, and you can do it!
- Do the S.C.C.: Stay Calm and Collected. If you stay calm it is easier to remember all the stuff I told you.
So don’t be scared and remember this is the way to help end this pandemic. You can do this! I know as a kid you might not feel like there is anything you can do, but this is a way you can help everybody. Just because you are a kid doesn’t mean you can’t do anything. Small things change the world all the time!
Price Olson is the son of Denise Kesler Olson. He lives in Virginia with his family where he enjoys riding his bike, watching YouTube videos, and playing video games.
