A high school senior is encouraging other teenagers to get vaccinated against the coronavirus after she missed her high school graduation due to a COVID-19 diagnosis.Candida Pereira Dufrechu, of Leominster, Massachusetts, tested positive for COVID-19 and could not attend her school's 2021 graduation ceremony on Saturday.Dufrechu is the first person in her family to graduate high school and was disappointed that she could not walk across the stage."I have cried it out this whole time, so I just don't have emotions right now," she said. "It hurts."Dufrechu now has a message for fellow teenagers who are hesitant to get vaccinated against COVID-19."Thinking about it, I should have when I had the chance," she said about getting the vaccine.Dufrechu said her principal is planning something special for her once she is out of quarantine.The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations among teenagers has seen a slight uptick nationwide. A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns teens that they can still contract the coronavirus and is encouraging them to get vaccinated.