Gympie woman explains last minute decision to get Pfizer jab

A young Gympie woman once hesitant about getting vaccinated against Covid is now booked in to get her first jab in September; here’s what changed her mind:

Twenty-three-year-old Gympie woman Arielle Kay was once hesitant about getting vaccinated against Covid but is now booked in to get the jab in September.

Gympie woman Arielle Kay was against having the Covid jab, but after the latest outbreak of the Delta strain in South East Queensland, the 23-year-old said she is not taking any chances.

Miss Kay said on Thursday she was initially worried about getting vaccinated because she feared she might give Covid to others who were not vaccinated, even though she would be protected.

But in light of the repercussions of the Delta strain outbreak in South East Queensland, she said she realised how important it was to be vaccinated.

“It’s getting serious and it is something that’s very serious and people can die, but if you’re vaccinated there’s a better chance of survival.”

Miss Kay said a conversation with her mum, who had her first dose of Pfizer on July 27, helped her realise the risk of dying from Covid was greater without the jab.

“She said ‘you could get really sick and you could die’, and she sort of twisted my leg,” she said.

Miss Kay often travels to Brisbane to visit friends and said she wanted to stay safe from the escalating Delta outbreak.

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“I do a lot of coast to Brisbane trips, so I’m always visiting friends down there and they’re quite big places where there’s been quite a few hot spots,” she said.

As a result, she was booked in to receive her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the Gympie Goldfields Doctors on September 2.

“It’s just spreading like wildfire and people really do need to get vaccinated,” she said.

Her mother, Ali Kay, 51, received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on July 27 at the Civic Centre vaccination hub, which she described as “easy”.

She said she decided to get the jab to protect herself, and did not feel any side-effects.

“I felt absolutely fine. I sat down for 15 minutes and had a lollipop and I felt the same as when I walked in,” she said.

“Obviously you had a sore arm, but that was it,” she said.

Symptoms of Covid-19 can include fever, coughing, shortness of breath, sore throat, loss of smell or taste and a runny nose.

If you have any of these symptoms, no matter how mild, call your doctor or 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) and get tested.