Selwyn shares his vaccination story

Selwyn Gamble decided to get his COVID-19 vaccinations to protect himself, his loved ones and help create a future of endless possibilities.

The Pasifika University of Canterbury student is among the 200,000 young people who have been double vaccinated in Aotearoa.

“My dad is immunocompromised so it was important for me to get vaccinated and make sure that we help build that defence to protect people like my Dad.”

Selwyn also dreams of a future when travel is back on the cards once more.

“I wanted to have the ability to travel and do things I have been wanting to do since before COVID-19 - we're a long way from that but the vaccine is a good incentive to help us get back to our normalities.”

Selwyn is of Tongan descent, was raised in North Canterbury and currently lives in Ōtautahi. Opening up about his lockdown experience, Selwyn says that the recent 2021 COVID-19 Delta lockdown has been a tough experience in comparison to previous ones.

“The first lockdown was okay. I went home and got to spend it with my whanau. It’s been really hard this time around because lockdown has halted any momentum that I had during the year. I felt claustrophobic.”

Although this experience was difficult for Selwyn, he says that the “lockdown was important for stopping the spread of COVID-19.”

Selwyn stresses the importance of having a space to talanoa about COVID-19 and the vaccine with loved ones, so that people are informed and feel comfortable to make the decision to get vaccinated.

“I was with my mum who was a little bit uncomfortable and uneasy about the vaccine, so we just made it a conversation.”

Having a talanoa about this helped Selwyn and his mother to feel comfortable with their decision to get vaccinated. His experience of getting the COVID-19 vaccine was smooth and enjoyable.

“The first time was so easy, we booked into a Pasifika Clinic - we got there, got vaccinated, waited 15 minutes, and then we could leave.”

 Selwyn’s message to Pasifika youth is this:

“It’s important to get the right information from the right places and trusting in our health systems and getting the vaccine is important for protecting ourselves and our loved ones.”