A 12-year-old with cystic fibrosis has pleaded with the Government to allow him be vaccinated against Covid-19, so he can be protected from the virus and hug his father for the first time in six months.
Jason Larner, from Garryowen in Limerick, knows what it is like to be seriously ill in hospital, requiring numerous intravenous antibiotics due to his life-threatening and life-limiting lung disease.
Last month, the European Medicines Agency Board (EMA) approved the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds but Ireland’s National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) is still reviewing this.
“I want this vaccine, I want to be able to hug my dad again, the only time I ever get to see him is on a video call. I also want to be able to see my friends in person again,” said Jason, who turns 13 in October.
Jason’s mother Joy O’Donoghue said she and her son’s father, who are separated, agreed that because his job involves working in close proximity to others, he would sacrifice close contact visitations with Jason and his younger brother Liam (8), in the interests of keeping Jason safe.
'Prisoners in our own home'
“It sucks. I didn’t get to experience my last year of primary school, and it’s boring sometimes,” said Jason, who has been homeschooled with his brother since March of 2020.
Ms O’Donoghue said the last 18 months since Covid struck have “been a nightmare” for the family who are “prisoners in our own home”.
“Nobody seems to understand the urgency of this for families like mine who have children with underlying health conditions. With Cystic Fibrosis (CF) your life expectancy is between 30-40, and while it’s getting better every year with new medications, your life expectancy is still short,” she said.
“If Jason got Covid-pneumonia, let’s say best case scenario he didn’t die from it, what if he ended up with ‘Long Covid’, what if his lungs were damaged?
My kids haven't actually hugged their dad since January
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“His lung function is at 87 per cent at the moment, which is very good for CF, but it’s the highest his lung function has ever been. At its lowest, with pneumonia, his lung function has been 50 per cent, one fully functioning lung.
“Case numbers back in January in Limerick started getting high again and their dad and I decided it would probably be best if he didn't take the kids because, with his job he is surrounded by an awful lot of people and close contacts, and the risk factor was just too high.
“So, my kids haven't actually hugged their dad since January, apart from him delivering things to the house for the kids or standing outside and them sitting inside the house on the stairs having a chat through the open door.”
'I lost my father Gerry to it'
Ms O’Donoghue is also trying to cope with the loss of her father, Gerry O’Donoghue, 66, who died from Covid last Christmas.
“I know first-hand the devastation Covid causes. I lost my father Gerry to it on Christmas Day. He was living in the UK, and I could not go to his funeral, because I couldn't risk travelling there and risk bringing Covid home to my child.”
She added: “I want to make it abundantly clear, I’m not calling for mass vaccinations of 12 to 15-year-olds. I believe it’s every parent’s right to do what is best for their family, and I should be afforded the same right.
“We understand that there is no vaccine that is 100 per cent and we understand that even if Jason gets vaccinated he could still get Covid, but we also know that the vaccines are there to prevent serious illness and death.
“The Government have been going on about the impact of Covid on people’s mental health, but nobody has reached out to see how family carers are doing, and we are struggling mentally.
“It’s very difficult. My main issue is that there is a vaccine there that is approved for my child and I can’t get it. I think it’s extremely unfair that people can say they don’t want the vaccine, but we can’t get the vaccine.”
Urgency
Ms O’Donoghue said she feels “there doesn't seem to be any urgency” in facilitating vaccines for vulnerable children.
“I’ve had my vaccine, their dad is vaccinated, their grandparents are vaccinated, but it doesn't allow us any freedom because we can still get the virus and bring it home,” she said.
“I still have to be so careful, because if I bring home Covid to Jason, I would have to try to live with that.
Indoor drinking and dining seem to be the priority over vulnerable children’s health
“I’m not the only parent out there in this situation. It’s just nobody seems to be listening. Indoor drinking and dining seem to be the priority over vulnerable children’s health because that’s all that’s been in the news.”
Ms O’Donoghue said it was now the second summer that her children had had to “give up”.
“We have lost out more than your average family... It’s now summer holidays, beaches are extremely busy and people are getting on with their lives. I can’t take the boys to the beach, I can’t be confident that the person sitting next to us on the sand doesn’t have Covid and that they are not asymptomatic.”
Doorstepped Taoiseach
Desperate for help, Ms O’Donoghue doorstepped the Taoiseach in Limerick last Friday and the Fianna Fáil leader told her he would do all he could but that it was up to others to sanction a vaccine for Jason.
Earlier, Micheál Martin said he understood the “worrying” situation for children with underlying conditions, and that the situation was “urgent”, but it was not up to him to allow children be vaccinated.
“Politicians on their own, in this country, will not make decisions on vaccinations, and from a safety point of view we will take advice from Niac in this regard,” Mr Martin added.
A tweet sent by the HSE to Ms O’Donoghue, which has been seen by this reporter, informed her that “vaccination may be considered for children over the age of 12 with severe disabilities who spend time in residential care settings for children with complex needs”.
However, Ms O’Donoghue said this does not help her son: “There are seriously ill children all over the country that don’t attend residential care settings.”
A Department of Health spokeswoman said Niac was presently considering the use of the Pfizer vaccine in 12 to 15-year-olds here.
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, told RTE’s Morning Ireland last Friday that he wanted to “prioritise 12 to 15-year-old’s with underlying conditions, to make sure that the return to education is safe, and is safe for onsite learning”.
Ms O’Donoghue said her son’s life needs to be protected now: “Jason has cystic fibrosis, it’s a degenerative lung disease, and Covid affects the lungs primarily — put the two together it’s not a good combination.”
