'I Vaccinated My Child Today': Bridgewater Mom Shares Why She Did
BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Like many parents living in the COVID pandemic, Julie Hynes of Bridgewater was struggling with the decision to vaccinate her children.
This week she made the decision to vaccinate her 7-year-old son.
"Mom, I'm so proud of myself for getting the vaccine," he said.
Hynes was nervous all the way up until it happened but felt it was the right decision for her family.
"Parenting in the 2020s is not for the weak. It’s a full-time job of constant worrying, and the bubble doesn’t exist anymore especially for school-aged children. Protect them how you can," said Hynes.
Hynes penned a letter for other parents where she shares her feelings about her decision to vaccinate:
I consider myself a "crunchy" mom. I buy organic when I can. We eat organic healthy food,
clean with organic products, use organic diapers and wipes. I exclusively breastfeed and make
my own baby food. With all that being said, here we are smack dab still stuck in the center of
the world’s largest pandemic, COVID.
A little background, our family of five is considered high-risk due to my mom having
bronchiectasis as well as our daughter having PFAPA (periodic fever syndrome) and asthma.
We also have an infant, so that’s been fun in itself keeping all germs away from her with two
other school-aged kids. Since day one, we have tried to be the most careful. We kept our
distance, did the virtual learning, we wore masks and sanitized constantly. In the beginning, I
thought I was doing everything right to protect my family. Three years later, COVID is spreading
stronger than ever, I still stay up many nights questioning everything.
The thing that I am most certain upon was all adults getting the vaccine. Once my husband, myself and our parents got the vaccine I was able to breathe a little lighter. Then the age group started getting lower for those expected to get the vaccine and for some reason my nerves were on edge again. My husband and I would do anything to protect our children, getting the vaccine ourselves was the first answer. We were doing it to protect our children. Two months ago the CDC released guidelines everyone 5 and up can now receive the vaccine. My brother, who is a scientist, explained why this is safe for our 7-year-old son to get. All of my son’s close friends and some family were getting the vaccine, yet I was still nervous. My son is the reason I live and breathe, if anything happened to him I don't know what I would do with myself.
Unfortunately, it took the rise of hospital cases in children to really open my eyes. I can’t keep my children in a perfect bubble anymore the way I did in the beginning of this pandemic. They need their friends, they need to be in school learning to have any chance surviving this crazy world we live in. Hindering any of that is part of the problem. The vaccine is the solution.
Yes, there is controversy on whether or not it works, but it does lessen COVID symptoms as well
as protects our youngest daughters who are too young to receive the vaccine a little more than
before.
So yes, we vaccinated our child today. I was nervous and tried not to show it. He was nervous but very brave. In the car on the way home he said, "Mom, I'm so proud of myself for getting the vaccine." Our 7-year-old son was creating history and fighting for his future. He also fights for those who lost their lives due to COVID. I could not be any more proud. We will continue to wash and sanitize our hands and wear our masks to get through this brutal winter but I can slowly start breathing a little lighter again.
Parenting in the 2020s is not for the weak. It’s a full-time job of constant worrying, and the bubble doesn’t exist anymore especially for school-aged children. Protect them how you can.
— Julie Hynes, Bridgewater
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This article originally appeared on the Bridgewater Patch
