Redwood City tweens take their turn

Caamal, 13, is one of 12 students to get vaccinated during St. Francis Center’s fifth vaccine clinic held in partnership with Dignity Health. The students first became eligible for Pfizer Inc. doses last week following federal approval, which changed to include those ages 12 and older.

Sophia Thibault, a 12-year-old Holy Family student, said she was also excited to finally receive the vaccine despite her fear of needles. Reflecting on the past year, she noted the vaccine has been a sign of hope for the hard-hit communities.

“I feel clean and good after because this virus is really taking a huge toll on everyone, especially this community here,” Thibault said. “I feel like this is kind of life changing for a lot of people too.”

Redwood City and unincorporated North Fair Oaks has been home to some of the hardest hit San Mateo County residents, particularly those in the Latino community. Since the start of the pandemic, Latinos have represented more than half of all COVID-19 infections countywide but traditionally underserved residents have trailed in vaccinations by more than 10% when compared to the county’s overall vaccination rate.

Most students have been directly affected by the virus, either contracting COVID-19 themselves or having lived with family members who have, Sister Christina Heltsley, executive director of St. Francis Center, said.

Hugo Torres, the students’ seventh grade teacher, highlighted the many ways the pandemic has weighed on the children. Many began showing signs of depression and disinterest in class as their parents lost work, faced growing financial insecurity, began arguing or fell ill.

Cases of domestic violence also shot up, Torres said, a trend recognized by local and national domestic violence agencies over the pandemic year. The increased strain has required the school to increase its mental health services for parents and students by roughly 85%, Heltsley said.

“This is depressing for adults. It’s depressing for kids too. There’s a lot of trauma around that,” Heltsley said. “They take all of that on and it is a trauma. It’s something a 12-year-old, a 5-year-old shouldn’t have to deal with but they do.”

Teachers have aimed to link both the social and scientific effects of the virus when presenting lessons to the students, Heltsley said. The conversations have also allowed for students to openly discuss some of the rumors they’ve encountered online.

Parents have heard their children could become infertile if vaccinated and have been told pregnant or diabetic individuals should steer clear of the doses. Others have shared fears of being implanted with a microchip or were warned they’d eventually explode, Torres said.

But staff and students are now prepared to help educate others on the safety of the various vaccines while debunking conspiracies. With half of the school’s students now vaccinated, Heltsley shared hopes the teens could help encourage others to seek doses as well.

“They have been incredible ambassadors,” Heltsley said. “They bring their parents along … because they’re able to articulate the science behind it.”

Karina Gamez said her parents were initially apprehensive to let the 12-year-old get vaccinated. An early pause of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine due to blood clot complications and word of tougher side effects from the Moderna doses were alarming to the parents.

Despite the concerns, Gamez said her mother shared confidence in her daughter’s immune system and its ability to handle the vaccine. The parents were also comforted knowing Gamez would be receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

“She didn’t know for sure if anything bad would happen so she was kind of scared for me,” Gamez said, who contracted the virus with six of her family members in December.

The mother of 13-year-old Lesley Sanchez was also nervous to let the student get vaccinated but not due to online misinformation. Instead, her mother’s fears were related to potential side effects of being vaccinated. Still, the teen received her vaccine Thursday, two days after her mother who only felt slight fatigue after her first dose.

Now on the way to being fully vaccinated, Sanchez, whose family also contracted the virus, said she’s excited for classes to return to normal. Remote learning was difficult for the student, causing her grades to suffer. Having returned to a hybrid model in October, she said the experience has taught her the importance of school.

Eventually, the girls said they’d like to go on field trips, having had this year’s science-focused trip to California’s Great America canceled due to the pandemic, and to finally take their masks off with their classmates.

Heltsley shared the girl’s hopes for a return to normal, including maskless biking programs and soccer practices and a return to intermixed grade levels. She and Torres are also eagerly waiting for the remaining fourth-grade students to become eligible for vaccines potentially by the fall.

“Our kids are going to be protected. They’re going to be kids,” Heltsley said. “They have had to not be kids for a year and a half. … It means they can go back to normal. They can have a normal youth.”

sierra@smdailyjournal.com

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