Pro COVID-19 Vaccine

It has been nearly ten months since our state first shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost a year since December 31, 2019, when it was discovered in Wuhan, China. For most—if not all—of us, the novelty of wearing a mask and stocking up on hand sanitizer has long since worn off. We are tired of this virus and we are tired of waiting for things to go back to normal. And that’s where the newly released COVID vaccine comes in.

Researched, developed, and produced by BioNTech and Pfizer, the first being a German genetics and biology company and the second one of America’s pharmaceutical giants, the new vaccine has been tested multiple times. It was reported by Pfizer as being, “more than 90% effective in preventing infection in volunteers.” But what does this mean for the American people?

It means you should get the vaccine.

To ease my anti-vaxxers out there—you don’t have to trust me, but trust science. Vaccines work. According to the CDC’s webpage about vaccines, “The first time the body encounters a germ, it can take several days to make and use all the germ-fighting tools needed to get over the infection. After the infection, the immune system remembers what it learned about how to protect the body against that disease.” 

For those of you that got a flu vaccine and then got flu-like symptoms or even a minor form of the disease, that is completely normal. A vaccine is meant to imitate an infection of the given disease, and slight symptoms or reactions to this infection actually helps your body. 

When you get a vaccine, your body uses that illness-mimic to create white blood cells that remember how to fight that specific disease. In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, your white blood cells would memorize the way in which they killed the mimic-virus, then protect you from the actual virus if you ever got it. Think of it as a test. You’re simply preparing your body for the big chapter test by doing a little, mini quiz beforehand.

But some people have a more blunt approach to the vaccine:it can’t be worse than what we put into our bodies on a daily basis.

“Everyone is complaining about how they want normal life back but then say, ‘I'm not getting that vaccine, I don't know what's in it,’ like they don't eat chicken nuggets and burgers from McDonald’s,” one SJ student said.

Regardless of your opinion, either for or against, this vaccine will not be available for public distribution until at least2021. But knowing your decision about it now and doing your own, proper research helps distributors know how many people they’ll be supplying. So, take my advice: look it up yourself. You might find some answers to questions you didn’t know you had.