Vermont Public is independent, community-supported media, serving Vermont with trusted, relevant and essential information. We share stories that bring people together, from every corner of our region. New to Vermont Public? Start here.

© 2024 Vermont Public | 365 Troy Ave. Colchester, VT 05446

Public Files:
WVTI · WOXM · WVBA · WVNK · WVTQ · WVTX
WVPR · WRVT · WOXR · WNCH · WVPA
WVPS · WVXR · WETK · WVTB · WVER
WVER-FM · WVLR-FM · WBTN-FM

For assistance accessing our public files, please contact hello@vermontpublic.org or call 802-655-9451.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Tag along with one 7-year-old Vermonter as he gets his first COVID shot

An adult and a child sit on a picnic bench under a white tent outside a brick school
Elodie Reed
/
VPR
Owen and his mom Jessica sit for a portrait after Owen, who is 7, received his first COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at the Main Street Middle School in Montpelier.

More than 30% of Vermont kids between the ages of 5 and 11 have signed up through the state portal to get their first COVID shot, and more will be able to choose pharmacies and pediatricians’ offices as the state gets additional doses.

For many families, this is a momentous occasion. But even exciting things can be hard. VPR followed one young Vermonter through a rollercoaster of emotions as he got his first dose this morning.

A photo of an adult with two children walking down a sidewalk outside a brick school
Elodie Reed
/
VPR
Jessica Welsch and her two kids, Owen, 7, and Gretta, 4, approach Main Street Middle School in Montpelier so Owen can receive his first COVID-19 vaccination Wednesday morning.

It was raining in Montpelier when Owen Welsch walked up to the State Street Middle School for his 9:45 vaccine appointment. His 4-year-old sister Gretta was with him and so was his mom, Jessica, who said Owen had been looking forward to this moment.

“Owen has been excited for months and just waiting and anticipating that kids could get their COVID shot,” Jessica said. “And he asked me to write a letter to our Health Commissioner, Dr. Mark Levine, requesting that he could be the first Vermonter under the age of 12 to get his COVID vaccination.”

While he wasn’t the first kid to get vaccinated, he was among the first 14,000 who have already signed up to get the shot, and he was eager to help other kids feel comfortable doing the same. So he had agreed to be followed by VPR as he went through the process.

A photo of two hands holding a small vial and a syringe
Elodie Reed
/
VPR
Vermont Department of Health workers prepped COVID-19 vaccinations for kids at a clinic inside Main Street Middle School in Montpelier on Wednesday.

He had even worn a special t-shirt with helmets from The Mandalorian, one of his favorite pieces of clothing, for the occasion.

But it’s really hard to do something that can feel scary, like getting a shot, even if you really want to do it. And Owen found himself a little overwhelmed as he was ushered into the school gym to register, and then headed over to a semi-private area where he’d actually get the vaccine.

With lots of encouragement from local and state health workers and several reassuring hugs from Mom, Owen faced his fear, removed his sweatshirt, and bravely revealed his upper arm to take the shot.

A photo of three adults surrounding a child and administering a shot in the child's arm
Elodie Reed
/
VPR
With lots of love and encouragement from his mom and health workers, Owen receives his first COVID-19 shot.

After getting a button and a sticker, his vaccine card, and an appointment for his second dose, the Welsches walked over to the bleachers, where a Disney movie was playing on a projector, and a few other families were already sitting for a brief observation period.

By the time his 15 minutes were up, Owen was visibly relieved and starting to regain his initial enthusiasm for the whole affair.

Two children sit in green bleachers
Elodie Reed
/
VPR
Owen and Gretta watch a Disney movie while waiting for 15 minutes after Owen received his COVID-19 shot Wednesday.

Outside at a picnic table next to the school, he said he was feeling great, and protected.

“It was scary but kind of exciting,” Owen said. “The scary part was that I thought it was going to hurt a little more, and then the exciting part was that I was going to get the shot. It hurt a little bit but not a lot.”

Jessica said she was proud of Owen and excited about what it means for kids like him to be getting vaccinated.

“I told him this morning, I was like, ‘Oh gosh, I hope I don’t cry,’” she said. “I’m not a crier, but I knew I’d be pretty emotional, because we’ve been waiting for this for so long, as a mom and in the parent community, but also in the medical community."

A photo of a friendly cartoon alligator on some gym mats behind white clinic curtains
Elodie Reed
/
VPR
On Wednesday, Nov. 10, kids ages 5-11 could get a COVID-19 shot at a clinic inside the gym at Main Street Middle School in Montpelier.

Jessica works as a physician assistant at UVM Medical Center urgent care and said she was feeling nervous as the delta variant started making more kids around the country sick. So she looked at Owen’s shot today as one more step in beating down the virus.

The Welsch family was planning to celebrate Owen’s bravery with a special playdate in the afternoon. And they’ll be back at the beginning of December for Owen to get round two.

A photo of adult hands pinning a yellow button onto a child's jacket that reads "I got my COVID-19 vaccine"
Elodie Reed
/
VPR
Owen's mom Jessica pins his COVID-19 vaccine button on his jacket Wednesday for others to see.

But, before they left for the day, Gretta, as little sisters are wont to do, wanted to get her perspective in, too.

“I can’t wait to get mine,” she said. And Gretta already knows when that’ll happen:

“On my birthday, when I turn 5!”

Gretta only has to wait until January for her turn.

Have questions, comments or tips?Send us a message or tweet us@vprnet.

Jane Lindholm is the host, executive producer and creator of But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids. In addition to her work on our international kids show, she produces special projects for Vermont Public. Until March 2021, she was host and editor of the award-winning Vermont Public program Vermont Edition.
Elodie is a reporter and producer for Vermont Public. She previously worked as a multimedia journalist at the Concord Monitor, the St. Albans Messenger and the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, and she's freelanced for The Atlantic, the Christian Science Monitor, the Berkshire Eagle and the Bennington Banner. In 2019, she earned her MFA in creative nonfiction writing from Southern New Hampshire University.
Latest Stories