On the 4th of April 2022, the Covid-19 vaccine was rolled out to all 5-11 year olds. Covid has been a very long road for everyone and deciding if Elsa was going to have the vaccine was a family decision.
My Brother had his first Covid-19 vaccine the other week. He is 7 and is vulnerable. With Rory, the decision to vaccine was an easy one. Anything to help is immune system is good. He had a really good experience with the vaccine and the hospital staff were great with him. He had very little side effects and has his second one in just a few weeks time. For children who are vulnerable having the vaccine give them a boost.
It can still be a hard decision to make. There is alot of talk about it online and from what I have seen, alot of people are not happy about it. PArt of me gets it. It is something new. It is scary.
Seeing Rory having his vaccine done ressured Elsa. She saw that it isn’ so scary. I wanted Elsa to have a say in the decision to have the vaccine. We sat down and has conversations about it. I explained how vaccines work and why we have them. At the end of the day, even though she is 7 years old, it is still her body and her choice.
I managed to get her booked in on the 5th at a local vaccination centre. I will be honest. She did have a bit of a cry beforehand and if she was very upset and was refusing to have it then I would have said no and the staff the vaccine centre wouldn’t have done the vaccine.
They were great at talking to Elsa and explaining it in a way that she would understand. They spoke directly to her most of the time which as a parent is great to see. It shows that they also thought it was her decision.
When it comes to making the decision. We have a few people in the family that are at risk. Elsa has had Covid before and she was poorly and at times, it scared us. Having the vaccine covers all bases when it comes to protecting her and others around her. Cleo turns 5 in July and the same will happen with her. The conversation will be slightly different though as she is the one that could be a risk and her level of understanding is much different to Elsa’s but that is something that we will deal with when we get to it.
The best advice that I have when it comes to making the decision is research. Way up the pros and the cons. Think about family and if it is right for you as a family. It is a decision only you and your child can make.
The Coastal Mummy 