Following review of safety and efficacy data by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Pfizer received emergency use authorization of their COVID-19 vaccine for teens ages 12 to 15. Prior to this announcement, Pfizer vaccines were authorized for those ages 16 and older.
Atrium Health is among the first health systems to offer vaccines to these teens who have been eagerly awaiting their chance to get vaccinated! Read below to learn more about why vaccination is so important to them along with a few fun facts about who they are and what they look forward to doing once they receive their doses of hope:
Name: Benjamin Shifflet
Age: 12
Where do you live? Denver, NC
Where do you go to school & what grade are you in? North Lincoln Middle School, 6th Grade
What are some of your favorite hobbies? Minecraft, playing with my cat, camping, karate, playing flute.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I love cats.
What are you looking forward to doing once vaccinated? Being able to be with friends again.
"I just want to help to get things back to normal. I haven’t been able to socialize the way I used to. Humans are social creatures."
Name: Olivia Florence Diaz
Age: 13
Where do you live? Indian Land, SC
Where do you go to school & what grade are you in? Indian land Middle School, 7th Grade
What are some of your favorite hobbies? Drawing, painting, knitting, reading, gardeningand baking.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I have a rabbit named Snikerdoodle.
What are you looking forward to doing once vaccinated? Going to outdoor summer camps.
"I'm getting the vaccine so that I am safe from COVID-19 and I can protect my family members."
Name: Olivia Nicole Patt
Age: 15
Where do you live? Charlotte, NC
Where do you go to school & what grade are you in? Charlotte Country Day School, 9th grade
What are some of your favorite hobbies? Lacrosse, golf, and spending time with friends.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I was the viral “segway stroller baby.”
What are you looking forward to doing once vaccinated? Eventually not having to wear a mask all the time at school and travelling.
"I want to set an example for my friends that it is safe and important for our school to return to more normal times."
Name: Brayton Charles Patt
Age: 13
Where do you live? Charlotte, NC
Where do you go to school & what grade are you in? Charlotte Country Day School, 7th grade
What are some of your favorite hobbies? Lacrosse, basketball, fishing, snow skiing and hanging out with friends.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I am a huge Tar Heel fan!
What are you looking forward to doing once vaccinated? Not wearing a mask at school and eating in restaurants again.
"I'm getting my shot so I do not have to wear a mask all the time and hang out with my friends without worrying."
Name: Lily Katherine Renfrow
Age: 13
Where do you live? Charlotte, NC
Where do you go to school & what grade are you in? Jay M. Robinson Middle School, 7th grade
What are some of your favorite hobbies? Reading, sewing, painting, and playing with my dog.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I had a snowball fight with my family on the Great Wall of China when we went to adopt my little brother.
What are you looking forward to doing once vaccinated? I can’t wait to hug people again. I’m also looking forward to going to church camp this summer.
"If I am being honest I really hate shots. But more important than that, I don’t want to get COVID-19 and I want to help keep others around me safe. I can’t wait to be able to do normal activities again."
Name: Alexia Berger
Age: 15
Where do you live? Indian Trail, NC
Where do you go to school & what grade are you in? Metrolina Christian Academy, 9th grade
What are some of your favorite hobbies? Hanging out with friends and horseback riding.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I’ve lived in five states.
What are you looking forward to doing once vaccinated? Traveling and visiting my grandparents.
"I want to be able to travel again."
Name: Sophia Berger
Age: 13
Where do you live? Indian Trail, NC
Where do you go to school & what grade are you in? Metrolina Christian Academy, 7th grade
What are some of your favorite hobbies? Spending time with my dad, running and playing disc golf.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I had immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) when I was younger and spent a lot of time in a children’s hospital.
What are you looking forward to doing once vaccinated? Travel, hang out with friends and see my grandparents.
"It will help stop the spread of the virus and to go back to a somewhat normal life."
Name: Kendall Wilson
Age: 14
Where do you live? Matthews, NC
Where do you go to school & what grade are you in? Porter Ridge Middle School, 8th grade
What are some of your favorite hobbies? I enjoy swimming.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I go to bed every night at 7:45 p.m. so I can get up and swim at 6 a.m. I’d love to swim in college one day.
What are you looking forward to doing once vaccinated? Hang out with friends and travel.
"I'm getting my shot so I can go to high school next year and not be worried about the virus."
Name: Haylee Bell
Age: 15
Where do you live? Charlotte, NC
Where do you go to school & what grade are you in? Mallard Creek High School, 10th grade
What are some of your favorite hobbies? Playing volleyball, going shopping, spending time with friends, reading and traveling.
What are you looking forward to doing once vaccinated? More traveling!
"I want to show people it is completely safe. We need to stay safe and to keep others safe, you need to get the vaccine. Also to promote awareness so we can finally end this."
Name: Alexa Kate Jain
Age: 14
Where do you live? Charlotte, NC
Where do you go to school & what grade are you in? Myers Park High School, 9th grade
What are some of your favorite hobbies? Lacrosse, watching all sports, hanging at the beach.
What are you looking forward to doing once vaccinated? Traveling safely this summer.
"I'm getting vaccinated to help keep me and my family safe."
Name: Joshua T Joy
Age: 15
Where do you live? Charlotte, NC
Where do you go to school & what grade are you in? Providence High School, 9th grade
What are some of your favorite hobbies? Mountain biking, golfing, and cooking.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I’ve traveled to 34 of the 50 states.
What are you looking forward to doing once vaccinated? Being able to see my friends again after over a year and seeing family again like my grandparents safely, without risking their safety and my own.
"It’s a needed step into going back to somewhat normalcy, and with having asthma it removes some of the stress and extra precautions needed to reduce the risk of catching COVID."
Name: Patrick Thomas Terry
Age: 12
Where do you live? Denver, NC
Where do you go to school & what grade are you in? Lincoln Charter School, 6th grade
What are some of your favorite hobbies? Soccer, Jiu Jitsu, tennis, and playing video games.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself: I like to run 5Ks.
What are you looking forward to doing once vaccinated? Go on more vacations! I also hope I don’t have to wear a mask at school next year.
"I don’t want to get COVID-19 because I have seen how bad it has been for people that have gotten it and I just don’t want to have to worry about getting it anymore."
For more information about scheduling, locations and commonly asked questions, visit AtriumHealth.org/COVID19Vaccine.
