Ask Sam letter

Hi there,

Scientists and governments around the world are working hard to stop the spread of the coronavirus and to find a vaccine. Lots of people are struggling with the changes in their life since the pandemic and it’s normal to want things to get back to how they were as soon as possible.

There are no approved vaccines for COVID-19 just now but scientists are working hard to develop a  vaccine to find one that works and that’s safe. Developing a new vaccine takes time and once tests confirm that a vaccine is safe to use the next step is to produce it in large amounts and then distribute it all around the world.

In the meantime, medical scientists are also looking for treatments using medicines that are already available. And at the same time governments are creating new rules to respond to how the virus is spreading in different parts of the country, to try to reduce the spread in areas where there are the biggest numbers of people who have the virus.

During these times, missing people, pets and hobbies you were able to do before can be tough so try to keep in touch with people you can’t meet up with by message, phone or video chat and ask anyone looking after your pet or an animal to send you photos to let you know how things are. It’s often helpful to remind yourself of good memories and to be thankful for happy times.

Try to pick a new hobby or activity that you can do during this time. Maybe you could find an online course in animal care or first aid or something else that could help you to take care of your pet in the future.

It’s important to talk about how the current rules are affecting you and our counsellors are here to support you no matter how you’re feeling. You can also share your thoughts with other young people on the message boards who might be going through a similar situation.

I’m glad you wrote this letter to me.

Take care

Sam