Submitted by Geisinger
LEWISTOWN — Amelia Hegstrom, 17, was excited when the state of Pennsylvania expanded the eligibility to include teens like her.
She recently received the COVID-19 vaccine at the Geisinger Lewistown Hospital community clinic.
“I chose to get the vaccine because I believe it will help create a safer environment and help us as a community get back to some kind of normalcy. The sooner that everyone is vaccinated, the less the virus will spread,” Hegstrom said.
This State College Area School District student is the daughter of Michael Hegstrom, MD, chief medical officer of Geisinger’s Western Region, which gave her an inside look at how frontline workers were affected.
“From observing my father, I saw that the amount of stress placed on physicians and other essential workers was immense,” she said.
Hegstrom said COVID-19 hit hardest in her relationships with others.
“One of the worst challenges that I faced over the pandemic was the lack of social interaction. For the first few months, it was great to have a break from the world but then as time went on, it became increasingly hard,” she said. “I missed being able to talk to my friends and family face to face. It was very lonely; I had a hard time with not being able to socialize.”
Hegstrom encourages everyone to “get the vaccine when you are able to. Not only does it keep you safe, but it keeps your family and community safe as well. The only side effect that I faced was a little bit of soreness, but other than that I was perfectly fine.”
She added, “This is not a harmful process in any way — and getting the vaccine will only benefit you.”
