All Georgia residents over the age of 16 are eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccination, and many eligible Grady students have received their first vaccination shot. 

Senior Zoya Charania received the Pfizer vaccine and says getting vaccinated will allow for more freedoms. 

“I don’t have to worry about getting Covid and infecting my family and friends,” Charania said. “It will just release some stress in terms of who I can hang out with because I was a danger to my family because I see my grandparents a lot.”  

Before Covid, Charania would see her grandparents every weekend; however, as the pandemic worsened, safety was her family’s top priority. Her grandparents were the driving factor behind her decision to get vaccinated. 

“They’re very happy because they have also gotten the vaccine; so, they don’t have to worry as much,” she said.

Zoya’s mother, Moon Charania, echoed her daughter’s excitement. She said getting vaccinated will help relieve the burden of overpopulated medical centers. 

“I don’t want to bloat the healthcare system,” Moon Charania said. “It needs to keep its resources for the poor and uninsured and not for the middle class. That’s why I want her to be vaccinated.”

Junior Maggie Opsahl received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on March 22. Opsahl felt “lucky” to get a vaccine as early as she did.

“I was really excited because I didn’t have an appointment or anything,” Opsahl said. “It was really last minute, and I hadn’t expected to get it for a while.”

She and her friend found a pharmacy with a surplus and were able to get vaccinated without an appointment. 

“They had four shots to throw away that day, and she [a pharmacy worker] was like ‘If you want, you can go.’ And I did,” she said.

This is not uncommon. Because the vaccine is temperature-sensitive, doses have to be administered just hours after thawing. When distributors have a surplus of vaccines, some allow walk-in appointments to prevent waste. 

For Opshal, receiving her first shot allows her to become one step closer to traveling to see her siblings again.

“Both of my sisters are in college, and I haven’t been able to see them in a while; so, hopefully I can do that,” she said. 

Because vaccine trials are still being conducted for children under 16, students like freshman Megan Scarano are not eligible for vaccination. Scarano said she hopes to be eligible before she turns 16 next January.

“It does suck because I want things to open up and things to be safe, but when I can get vaccinated, and all the other kids my age can get vaccinated, it will be really good and exciting,” Scarano said. “Hopefully, then we can get things back to normal.”

Other students, like senior Jordynn Morton, however, will wait to vaccinate.

“I feel like it’s so new,” Morton said. “That’s why it’s kind of iffy. I’m not opposed to getting vaccinated when it’s [not as new], and I see that it’s not really hurting anyone.”