For weeks, the Covid-19 vaccine has been available for certain Americans and has been a topic for discussion for a while now. 

With recent tracking of cases, it seems that more people are getting infected again. However, it seems those who are affected are the individuals who are out partying, disregarding the mask rule, and those who didn’t get the vaccine, easily getting infected. 

A discussion needs to be had as many are still at risk of contracting the virus, but are either scared or uneducated about the vaccine. That’s why it’s important to talk about it, for more information to get out about the vaccine, helping to save the world of the pandemic!

Looking at the arguments against the Covid-19 vaccine, most say that it’s too early to get the vaccine, and they want to wait it out. And as most people argue, this one is probably the most understandable argument. 

The quickest vaccine created before the Pzifer, Moderna, or even the Johnson & Johnson one, was the Mumps vaccine. Unfortunately, according to National Geographic, the process took, “four years, from collecting viral samples to licensing the drug in 1967.” 

Adding more information, according to coronavirus.nautil.us, vaccines are not easy to make, as they can typically “take as long as 10-15 years to develop.” So it’s easy to understand why people are hesitant, to say the least, about getting the vaccine. However, the Covid vaccine did take some effort and hard work to get the vaccine to become safe and effective. 

The Covid-19 vaccine was created using an effect that Dr. Otto Yang, an infectious disease specialist at UCLA Health, called on uclahealth.org “a plug-and-play approach.” Once coronavirus was identified, scientists plugged its genetic material info into existing vaccine platforms. Once that was complete, they began testing and organizing structures to deploy it. 

So, while it may not have taken a long time, the vaccine was created safely and how modern vaccines would be created today. 

Well, that’s nice and dandy, I hear you saying, but is it safe? I hear that it’s dangerous! Some say the vaccine could cause infertility, changes of DNA, or even possibly death. 

Sorry to break the news to you, but it doesn’t. According to Katherine O’Brien on the World Health Organization International Podcast, “The vaccines we give cannot cause infertility. This is a rumor that has gone around about many different vaccines and there’s no truth to the rumor. There’s no vaccine that causes infertility.” 

When asked about the DNA rumour, she said, “Yeah, we’ve heard this rumor a lot. We have two vaccines now that are referred to as mRNA vaccines, and there’s no way that mRNA can turn into DNA. And there’s no way that mRNA can change the DNA of our human cells. What mRNA is, it’s the instructions to the body to make a protein.” 

She continued, “Most vaccines are developed by actually giving a protein or giving a small, tiny component of the germ that we’re trying to vaccinate against. And this is a new approach where instead of giving that tiny little part, instead, we just give the instructions to our own bodies to make that tiny little part and then our natural immune system responds to it.”

In reality, like all medicines, the vaccine can cause harm, but only small and temporary ones. Some side effects have been reported with the new vaccines, including fever, fatigue, headache and muscle aches. And to add more evidence, there are no reports of the vaccine causing severe harm upon anyone, and if there reports of danger being caused by the virus, it would be told. 

According to beckershospitalreview.com, “As of 6 a.m. EDT April 8, a total of 229,398,685 vaccine doses had been distributed in the U.S., and 174,879,716 had been administered, or 76.23 percent. Additionally, 112,046,611 people had received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 66,203,123 had been fully vaccinated. That means 33.7 percent of the U.S. population had received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 19.9 percent had been fully vaccinated.” 

Well, why are you so obsessed with this, I hear you screaming after giving you a lot of evidence, this means nothing. Sure a lot of people get the virus, but why do you care so much? Did you even get the vaccine? 

Yes, I did. 

During the pandemic, my family was hit hard from Covid-19. My mother got it, my uncle and aunt got it, and finally, both my grandmothers had gotten the vaccine. I was lucky enough never to experience the illness, but I had to watch my family wither in pain, each day. I took care of one of my grandmas, while other members cared for others. I felt so awful, and I felt like I wasn’t doing any work whatsoever. So I promise the first thing that could help them, I would get to save them. 

Once the vaccine was finally out, I helped my grandmothers apply to get the vaccine, and I even set up my own appointment at Walgreens. My grandmother was surprised to see I could get the vaccine and was shocked at how easily I made the appointment. 

On March 1st, I got the vaccine, and on March 29th, I received the second dose. I will admit there was some truth to the side effects, as I was tired throughout the day and my left arm was very sore. And my grandmothers felt even worse, having a fever, and getting a cold. 

We heard that sometimes people who had the virus might have a weaker immune system, so the vaccine has to build up and battle some things to help you get protected, while those who didn’t get it, must have a stronger immune system and the vaccine helps improve upon it. 

Whatever the case was, I’m glad to get it, and I did it for the people I cared about. And that’s why you should get it too. The vaccine may seem trivial or even something that seems too good to be true, but it can help save lives. So much lost as came about in the year 2020, and by taking this, it could help save us. 

Even if you still feel a bit uncertain about it, try thinking about all the people you care about, or things you want to help save. By coming together as a united society, this vaccine could be something to both boost morale and boost our chances at having a future.

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