I’m 14 and I want the Covid vaccine – why can’t Australia’s politicians tell us when we’ll be safe?
At 11am every morning, you can hear a pin drop in our house, as we gather around the television for our daily ritual to watch the New South Wales press conference.
On Saturday, I was alarmed at the increase in numbers in NSW – 825 new cases, the highest number of cases recorded in any state since the pandemic began.
Listening to Gladys Berejiklian speak, the recurring message, as it should be, was to get vaccinated. My mother and father have had both shots of the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine. In the front room of our house sits my grandmother watching the press conference alone as we are currently isolating from her. Thankfully she is also fully vaccinated. However, my three younger sisters and I are not vaccinated; at the age of 14 it is not an option for me.
It’s scary for my family and many other families with children when we look to the future. What the premier has outlined is that if vaccination rates hit 70% to 80%, NSW could start to open up. But will that take children such as myself into account? With the Delta strain infecting many children and even causing hospitalisations and death among adolescents and young people, how will young people be safe?
According to figures from the federal Department of Health, more than 6,200 children in Australia have been infected with Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. On Tuesday it was announced that all 16-39-year-olds in Victoria will be eligible for Pfizer. For children aged 12 to 15 it has been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. In France, Italy, Canada and elsewhere in the world, children of this age are being vaccinated. If it’s safe, why can’t we be vaccinated yet?
Young people like myself are becoming extremely frustrated at the fact that we’re often left out of this conversation and that our questions are unanswered. I live in a hotspot LGA. The majority of students at my school and most of my family live in western Sydney where case numbers are sky high. Anxiety and fear is rising among us, particularly in the younger demographic. With the prospect of opening up and returning to face-to-face learning eventually, will we be safe?
In a household with four young children, our family’s conversations surrounding post-lockdown plans are plagued with question marks. If we open up but aren’t vaccinated, we are at a higher risk of being infected with Covid-19 and could potentially end up in hospital, spread the virus or even suffer from long Covid.
Vaccination of children is a difficult area. How will consent work with those aged 12 to 15? Some of my relatives are vaccine hesitant and some are even anti-vaxxers. While my family might roll our eyes, their concerns could certainly act as a barrier to vaccination among the young. What would occur in situations where parents are anti-vaccination but their child wants to receive the vaccine? Could children under 16 consent to being vaccinated?
These days I’m feeling overwhelmed, angry and confused about so many issues: the government (both federal and state) and their mixed messaging and failure to admit their mistakes. Anti-vaxxers and their selfish protests. The lack of answers and no end to any of this in sight.
What I, and other young people want, is to feel safe and informed. We need to be given the vaccine or, at the very least, we need to know when we will have access to the vaccine. We need to be addressed as young adults. We need answers to our many questions. What does the research say on vaccinating 12 to 15-year-olds? When will life return to normal for us young adults? Will we be able to get vaccinated before we go back to school?
Of course, it’s maybe naive to be angry at the lack of answers in such unprecedented and confusing times. We know there is no rule book or guide to this pandemic. However, it’s the contradictions and lack of transparency that really infuriates me.
When Berejiklian makes obscure claims such as “Depending on the case numbers, life will be much freer than what it is today and that’s the point I want to make”, there is no clarity, no details, no plan. Only the vague promise of a “freer future”.
Recently I watched an interview with Prof Mary-Louise McLaws regarding young people and Covid. She suggested that parents who are concerned about their children’s health should write a letter to their local MP. It seems the only option we have left is to advocate for young adults to be vaccinated.
I’m 14 and I want the vaccine. Many young people I know do too. Before we open up, we must consider this young demographic that is nearly 20% of the Australian population.
• Anhaar Kareem is a 14-year-old student in year 9 at Al Noori Muslim school in Sydney’s west
Before we open up, we must consider this young demographic that is nearly 20% of the Australian population.