Young People Celebrate Vaccinations On First Day Of Eligibility

Ohioans 16 and up can now get the COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday, and many young people jumped at the opportunity, like Julia Rose, a 17-year-old high school student from Solon.

“I’ll be starting college next year, so hopefully I’ll have more of a college experience and a graduation as a senior this year from high school,” Rose said.

She’s interested in studying vaccines in college, and because of this, she felt well informed about the Pfizer vaccine she received from the Wolstein Center on Monday.

“It’s super fascinating, and I hope that I could use some of this research and continue with it when I’m older,” she said.

Danielle Rose takes a photo of her 17-year-old daughter Julia, who just received a vaccine. [Lisa Ryan / ideastream]

Rose was at the Wolstein Center with her mom, Danielle, who needed to accompany her at the appointment because Julia is under 18.

“We need to all help each other and get vaccinated to get back on the right track,” Danielle said.

Danielle already received her vaccine, but she has two other children who are younger than 16, so they won’t be able to receive the vaccine.

Sisters Carolyn and Grace Volney are in their early 20s and received the vaccine together.

“We’ve been like anxiously waiting for stuff to open up, and like checking the get the shot website every day to see if we could schedule ahead of time and stuff. So yeah, it’s been exciting,” Carolyn said.

Grace expressed relief that she’ll soon be able to see family again.

“I get to see my grandma now, that’s all I really care about,” she said.

Charles Noh gets his temperature screened before entering the Wolstein Center. [Lisa Ryan / ideastream]

24-year-old Charles Noh said it was an easy decision for him to get the vaccine because he wants to stay safe. He’s a student at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and that’s how he signed up.

“We got an email from the school, and then they told us the instruction to sign up. It was pretty easy,” he said.

Caroline McAdam is a 19-year-old Case Western Reserve University student. She took the RTA to the Wolstein Center to get vaccinated. She hopes others follow her lead and get the vaccine, if only for one reason:

“For everything to go back to normal,” she said.

Appointments for the Wolstein Center and information about vaccine providers can be found on the state’s website.