Slowing Down The Virus

USD 204 staff receive the COVID-19 vaccine

Laney Alexander| staff writer

It’s no secret that two vaccines for COVID-19 have been developed, and many people are thrilled to receive their dosage of it, especially after a year of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. The USD 204 school district has become one of the first in Kansas to receive their vaccines.

On Tuesday, January 19th, 85 members of the BSHS staf got their vaccine. They were required to follow a tentative schedule after they received their shot and given helpful tips from our school nurse Brittney Atwood to ease the common side efects such as pain and swelling on the injection area, fever, chills, headache, and tiredness.

Some of these tips included the following: for pain where the shot was given, apply a cool wet washcloth and exercise your arm. Another helpful tip was to take Tylenol, Motrin, and Aleve-all medications to help ease the pain. The last tip given was to drink plenty of fluids.

The staf of all of our district’s buildings had their chance between January 19th-January 25th depending on their scheduled day, to get the vaccine if they wished to do so. Each staf member was given one of the vaccine choices depending on their vaccine date and what the health department had on hand.

If a staf member got the Moderna vaccine, they will have to get a second dosage around 28 days after the first dose. For those that received this vaccine, the second dosage falls on Tuesday, February 16th.

Before receiving their shot, everyone was required to fill out paperwork stating they had no symptoms of the virus. If they had any of those symptoms the day of or had sufered the virus themselves in the past 90 days, they could not receive the vaccine.

A few of the teachers that braved the vaccine posted their photos with their “I got my COVID-19 vaccine!” sticker. Another teacher, Magan Harrell even posted a video of herself receiving the vaccine.

Though some staf were eager to get their vaccine, others had their reasons for choosing not to get the vaccine for themselves. Heather Campbell, who endured the virus in November decided not to get the vaccine.

“First of, I love science and am definitely Pro-Vaccine for all of my children... However, I decided to not get the vaccine as I survived the real deal in November and have my own antibodies to fight it of when

I am exposed to it again. I plan to get an antibodies test in February and probably again this summer just to see how long my own antibodies are working but for now, I am staying away from the vaccine,” Campbell said.

Negative rumors started to spark when the health department ran out of vaccines. This required some staf members to push their vaccine appointment to a diferent day. The rumors were quickly shut down once information about the lack of vaccines was relayed.

As of Monday, January 25th, all USD 204 staf that wished to receive their vaccine will have gotten it. The road has been long but we are finally starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel.