Joy as Holly, 16, gets vaccine

Ateenager has become one of the youngest people in the UK to get the coronavirus vaccine – after almost a year of shielding.

Holly Webster, 16, said she was delighted to receive the Covid jab at the weekend, after spending most of last year indoors.

The teen has the inherited blood condition spherocytosis, which led to her having an operation to remove her spleen in May 2019, reducing her immune system.

The condition meant Holly, who also suffers from Von Willebrand disease, was eligible to get the jab.

After getting the Pfizer vaccine at Dewars Centre in Perth on Saturday, Holly said: “It was wellorganised and the staff were lovely.

“It was a little bit sore but it’s over and done with quickly.

“I am happy to have had it done.

“I will shield for three more weeks and then hopefully after that I will be able to go out and see my friends for a walk, but I will still be cautious until I get the second dose.”

Holly only found out last week that she would be getting the vaccine and said she is looking forward to getting back to school.

The brave teen, from Perth, has been shielding since March last year.

Holly said: “It’s been so hard, especially not being able to see my friends.

“I had to stop going to my dance classes too, which is my way of letting go of everything, so to have that taken away was tough.

“It was scary watching the daily briefings and seeing the numbers rising and it felt really close to home.

“You take seeing your friends or going to the shop for granted but when it’s taken away from you it’s hard.

“It was scary worrying about if I could get it.”

Holly said she felt forgotten about at times, as she waited to find out if she could have the vaccine, given her age.

She said: “I was so relieved when I was told I was having it, I have missed out on so much already, socially and academically.

“With the vaccine I am in a grey area, I am classed as a child but closer to 18, so I felt stuck in the middle and kind of forgotten about.

“I went back to school in August but then mum took me out again in October because there were more and more people self-isolating which was worrying.

“I have worried about falling behind with my Highers which affected my metal health.

“I want to be a primary school teacher, so I need good grades to get into university, and online teaching is not the same as in person.”

Mum-of-three Fiona, 43, said Holly has not had any side effects following the vaccine.

She said: “I had to make a hard decision at the start of the pandemic whether to just shield Holly or all of us. We were inside for 118 days during the first lockdown, we never left the front door.

“It’s been scary especially if she has been poorly, you are worried about taking her to the doctors in case she gets it.”

The vaccination of Perth teenager Holly Webster is a timely reminder of the effect this pandemic has had on our young people.

While Holly’s health issues make her an extreme case, children across the country will relate to her confinement.

From the moment schools closed last spring, the country’s youth has been asked to sacrifice so much of what is important to them.

At present, most cannot go to school or meet up with more than one friend at a time.

Youth groups, sports clubs and preschool gatherings are in abeyance.

The older age group has missed out on the vital and often lifedefining social activities of early university.

For most, there is no end in sight, with the vaccination programme focused on those from entirely different demographics.

Holly has spoken about feeling left behind and forgotten and the effect lockdown has had on her mental health.

The activities of young people, baffling to older generations, can often be the focus of ire.

In the main, they may not have to worry about paying the mortgage or servicing loans or where their next meal is coming from but their sacrifices, made to ensure everyone remains safe, should not be underestimated.

They are worthy praise. of the highest

BRAVE FACE: Holly has been shielding since last March.