INDIANAPOLIS — This was the day many were looking forward to. Wednesday is the day people 16 and older could schedule their COVID-19 vaccine in Indiana.
“I registered my son today,” Kelly Kishel said. “He just turned 17.”
“I was super excited to get online this morning and schedule my vaccine,” 17-year-old Jake Richardson said.
“They are over the moon,” said Amy Mumaugh, who registered her two teenage kids for the vaccine. “They’ve been telling us that we have to get it as soon as we can.”
“I’ve been kind of looking forward to it,” 18-year-old Sarah Weglarz said. “Both my parents have gotten it. So I was excited and ready.”
Weglarz, who lives in Westfield, was actually able to find an appointment Wednesday.
“There are no appointments available in Westfield until mid to late April so we actually drove up to Richmond and had it done,” Weglarz said. “They have a ton of available appointments.”
Because her mom has an autoimmune disease, she said, “I knew as soon as I was eligible to get it that I wanted to just to protect my family.”
“Oh my gosh if I could get vaccinated right now I would already have it in my arm,” Richardson said.
Richardson, who is a senior high school student, is also registering for his appointment Wednesday.
“I’m ready for a little bit of closure with regards to graduation,” Richardson said. “And so being able to get my vaccine and for my friends to be able to get our vaccines really just ensures that we will be able to have a graduation ceremony at the end of our high school year.”
Mom Amy Mumaugh and her husband tag-teamed: one parent registering for one of their teenage children, while the other covered the other high schooler. Then, their 19-year-old son, a University of Indianapolis student, registered himself.
“We were like ok 16 and up from 30 and up, that’s a big jump,” she said. “That’s a lot of people. We have to divide and conquer because we have so many and they were chomping at the bit to get in.”
The same goes for mom Kelly Kishel, who registered her 17-year-old son Wednesday morning.
“It’s so exciting,” Kishel said. “It means that we can finally see people! And he can go to school next year. That’s like mind-blowing.”
Kishel has medical issues and her family’s quarantined pretty much throughout the entire pandemic.
“Haven’t seen any friends or family at all,” she said. “And he actually opted into the virtual learning this year instead of going to school full-time just because it would put me more at risk. It’s been a struggle for him and I have greatly appreciated his willingness and he did it really to protect me.”
For these teenagers, “the vaccination is just one more step to ensure our journey in the next chapter in our life can begin,” Richardson said.
“I think it just kind of symbolizes hope and maybe hopefully the beginning of the end,” Weglarz said.
