12-year-old celebrates birthday with COVID-19 vaccine

GREENUP COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ/Gray News) – Instead of asking for a pool party and sleepover with friends for her birthday this year, 12-year-old Lucy Roy asked to roll up her sleeve for a COVID-19 vaccination.

Like many people, Lucy feels like her world shut down when the pandemic started in March 2020.

“We all got quarantined, and we just thought it was the big flu thing, and then it started getting worse and worse,” Lucy told WSAZ.

Lucy started middle school in August 2020, but only went one day in person before switching to virtual learning.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m starting middle school.’ And then it was COVID and I didn’t even have a normal year, so it was kind of hard to actually learn how to do middle school,” Lucy said.

With school virtual, she couldn’t spend much time with her friends. Additionally, Sunday dinners with her grandparents were stopped, as her grandfather is considered high risk.

“They’ll sit on their porch, and we’ll sit in the grass or something and we’ll talk to them, and we did that a lot,” she said. “It was really hard for me to not hug him and my ma-maw.”

When Lucy heard the COVID-19 vaccine was available earlier this year, she knew she wanted to get inoculated, not only to protect herself but to protect others.

“I was like, ‘Mom, when can I get mine?’ and she was like, ‘Well you have to be 12′ and I was like, ‘Oh, darn it, I can’t get mine yet,’” Lucy said.

About a month before her birthday, Lucy found herself asking for a present she never dreamed of: a COVID-19 vaccine.

On Aug. 31, her 12th birthday, she got her first shot.

She says it’s important to her, especially as more kids her age are testing positive.

Now, she can hug her grandparents again, which is something she hasn’t done for far too long.

“I can go see my grandparents, I can go see my whole family without being worried that I’m not protecting them and myself,” she said.

Since her whole family is vaccinated, Lucy hopes they’ll be able to celebrate Christmas together in person this year instead of over Zoom.

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