8 minute read
Opinion
to vaccinate
Microchips, human remains, and trackers: These ideas would England Journal of Medicine, both the Moderna and the Pfizer make any discussion about biology exponentially more exciting. vaccine have around a 95% success rate in trials, which is impressive The news of a newly approved COVID-19 vaccine was the light given the speed of its delivery. Despite theories that may be at the end of a long, dark tunnel. After almost a year of COVID circulating, there really is no empirical basis for the potential threat of flipping our whole upside down, and claiming the lives of over the vaccine. 500,000, this news was thought to be welcomed by Americans, as it “A large number of ordinary people volunteered for clinical trials signifies a looming return to our normal world. However, it was met of the vaccines, which meant we got the answers to key questions with a whirlwind of criticism, some justified, and some that can only about safety and protection quickly,” Gavin. be labeled as conspiratorial. The previous arguments all had some merit to them, but there The biggest call for concern surrounding the COVID vaccine was are others circulating around social media which seem to devolve in the swiftness with which it came out. Typically, vaccines take a much comparison to the concerns of scientists and professionals. Some feel longer time to be developed and approved, so it’s understandable that that the covid vaccine is simply a front for some sort of conspiracy some people might feel that the creation process wasn’t quality. plotted by the government, and while there’s variation on what Luckily for us all, the claims that the COVID-19 vaccines weren’t exactly the end goal might be (microchipping, population control, developed with enough caution are almost entirely baseless. The etc.) all of them are undermined with one simple idea: How could vaccines have received emergency any government possibly pull that off? approval from the FDA, and yes, While questioning the effectiveness that is different from the normal FDA approval process, but it doesn’t “there is a of a vaccine is one thing, arguing that it has a malicious intent is entirely necessarily mean that the vaccines didn’t receive a comprehensive review. “The entire process went faster than responsible and another. A ploy masked by a vaccine simply has too many moving parts to pull off. A skeptic eye for Big usual for explainable reasons, but still followed the usual steps for testing and beneficial choice Pharma, or even the bureaucracy at the FDA is valid, but these groups review. The most important reasons for speed: modern scientific tools are we can all make to aren’t the only with influence over the vaccines. Independent researchers faster than old ones, and there was a worldwide effort to reduce or remove the usual barriers and delays in vaccine do our part.” and both public and private health establishments have had part in the creation and deployment of the research, production and distribution,” vaccine. writes Kara Gavin, of the University The bottom line when it comes to of Michigan Health Policy and Innovation, in an article about the the vaccine, is that there is a responsible and beneficial choice we can vaccine. all make to do our part in stopping the spread of COVID-19, and The vaccine has also already had tremendous success rates, with minimize the number of lives lost. We’re all itching to return to our little to no signs of complication. In fact, according to the New normal lives, so taking a vaccine that is proven to be effective feels like
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phase 1b tier 3
able to get the vaccine on March 15 in Missouri
by AMY GRAHAM
who is included in this tier?
- education - childcare - communications - energy -food/agriculture - government - information tech -nuclear reactors, materials, and waste - transportation systems -water and wastewater
OPINION 11
the ugly side of Social Media
The harsh truths of what social media has done to today’s generation
by KATIE CLAUNCH
Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat, Facebook, and so many more: we all have them and are all affected by them. Blindly opening your phone and scrolling through these apps has become normalized. Social media has its benefits but is not good for the mental health of teenagers. According to BBC, over 40 percent of the world’s population can be found on some form of social media. Social media causes Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), anxiety, depression, cyberbullying, and just not feeling good enough. One effect that social media has on this world is a fear of missing out (FOMO), anxiety and depression. If you’re active on social media, you will SEE so much more of people doing “cool” things. The things you see may be things that you could never be able to do, and it’s easy to get jealous. Seeing or talking to people in real life boosts mood and reduces stress. Over a screen, it’s hard to get that same interaction. Mental Health America says that 46 percent of people have some form of mental illness due to social media. Another thing that seems to get worse behind a screen is bullying. Cyberbullying happens more often because hiding behind a screen tends to make it easier. This results in people not feeling good enough. Bullying has always been a problem, but gets easier online because people can hide behind a screen. Because of this, people will start to search for approval, resulting in more posts going up. Then the brain trick happens, the more comments you get… the better you feel. You don’t feel good enough. You notice other people’s posts and it’s hard to remember that they are just sharing the highlights. It’s easy to get jealous. While social media may have its benefits, it’s mostly negative to the mental health of teenagers. If you are looking to improve your mental health, maybe take a social media cleanse. Delete the apps that you find yourself blindly opening and see how you improve. You may find that your mental health and overall well-being will improve with this. People will say that social media is good. It allows you to communicate and connect with people to gain creativity, emotional support, and to raise awareness on issues/news. While all these things may be true, the negative aspects of social media are greater than the positive. Social media physically and emotionally affects its users negatively way more than it affects them positively.
12 OPINION
Unlocked:
Republicans set the social media standards they objected to when it came Conservatives by PARKER RIVERS to the insurrection Against Corporations
The aftermath of the insurrection on our Capitol that occurred January 6 will never be able to be fully summarized, but one of the greatest twists that came out of the horrific event was the extreme right wing advocacy for such progressive views. There weren’t Republican senators voting for universal healthcare or opening borders, but as action was being taken upon those accountable for the event (Parler’s app being deplatformed for failing to stop violent groups from organizing, Trump’s social media accounts being suspended across the internet, and Missouri’s own Josh Hawley having his Simon & Schuster book deal being withdrawn after he was photographed inciting the group of rioters the day of), many members in the conservative field seemed suddenly opposed to the profit-favoring corporations making decisions for themselves. Large windows of hypocrisy were opened wide on the fateful day, as a culmination of self destruction poured across the World Wide Web. Hawley, a Republican Senator who spent years advocating for the freedoms of large corporations and promoting their increase in wealth (at whatever expense) seemed to flip on those views, saying “Simon & Schuster is cancelling by book deal because I was representing my constituents...This is the Left looking to cancel everyone they don’t approve of.” When it comes down to it, any action to improve business is accessible unless it favors the Democrats, and while many of those who supported Hawley may in fact have been represented by his inciting of violence, it was still just that. On a larger scale than a book deal, and as a man of much more influence, Donald Trump was also subject to consequence for the actions he inspired while the Congress was confirming his defeat. According to Pew Research Center, 58 percent of American adults polled believed it was right for Trump to be removed from his many social media platforms. Still, just 21% of Republicans fell into that category. It’s important to understand that these are not solely political actions being taken by Twitter and Facebook’s CEOs. Rather, the companies are fulfilling their responsibility to censor unprotected speech. Parler’s failing to do that is what ultimately led to their demise, as Apple, Amazon and Google all ceased offering the application. That deplatforming was later upheld as legally justified by an appeals court. The people mentioned were very clearly adding fuel to the fire in an incident that ended up causing the deaths of at least five Americans. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. were not blocking Trump from their services just because they didn’t like him or agree with him; they did it because they were meant to stop the spread of any sort of violence or encouragement of it. Even if that were the case, had he done nothing wrong, those companies still have the right to do whatever they want, thanks to Republican advocacy in the past to allow, for example, homophobic refusal practices on religious grounds. This was a turning point in our country, leading up to a major shift in leadership. It was tragic for some, it was telling to many, and it was a big loss for a few. Au revoir, Mr. Trump. 58 percent of American adults polled believed it was right for
