A teenager with two lifelong illnesses will become one of the youngest Scots to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
Holly Webster, 16, who suffers from hereditary spherocytosis and von Willebrand disease (VWD), has been forced to shield at home for much of the last year.
She had to have her spleen removed in an operation in May 2019 in order to improve her condition but the surgery reduced her immune system.
Mum Fiona said: “The Oxford AstraZeneca is not suitable for under 18s so my GP could not give her it because they only had that one. So I had to go to a consultant in Ninewells and the haematologist we saw said that she definitely needed the vaccine due to her condition.
“So my GP then got in touch with the vaccine coordinator and made sure she is set up to get the Pfizer vaccine, which 16-year-olds can get. It is quite rare as from what I have seen there are not many her age that are getting it. She has only been 16 for six weeks.”
Holly needs to get her pneumonia jab every five years and her flu jab every year because she is so vulnerable. Fiona added: “We chose to shield as a family and her dad did doorstop visits instead.
“During the first lockdown, we didn’t leave the house for 118 days, using online shopping and her dad brought some shopping and prescriptions to the door.
“Then we came out of lockdown for a couple of months and then we went back in on Boxing Day.’’
Spherocytosis is a condition that affects red blood cells and typically leads to anaemia, jaundice, a shortness of breath, gallstone pains and an enlarged spleen. VWD is an inherited condition where blood cells do not stick together as much as they should, meaning the person bleeds more easily than normal.
But Holly, who needs to take antibiotics daily, will take a step forward to regaining her freedom tomorrow (February 13) when she receives her Pfizer vaccine jab at Dewars Centre in Perth.
Fiona said: “We have had to push for her vaccine a bit and hopefully she can go out for a walk and see a friend at a social distance. She has not had a lot of contact with her friends over the past year and she has had homeschooling like most others.
“She has been doing her dance classes over Zoom with her teacher and does lyrical competitions over Zoom but it has been a hard year for her and hopefully the first vaccine dose will be a new start for her.
“It is good the vaccine centres have been set up - otherwise what would we have done?”
