Weighing risks and benefits of new COVID shot

By: Lola Cooper

Many people are hesitant about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. They are questioning the vaccine mostly because of how quickly it was brought to the surface. People say it was rushed and corners had been cut to get the vaccine quicker. The vaccine developers didn’t skip any testing steps, but conducted some of the steps on an overlapping schedule to gather data faster. The process did go faster but the usual steps and procedures and testings and review were all followed. Scientific tools are also getting a lot faster than they used to be. On top of that lots of people volunteer for trials of the vaccine giving much needed results faster. Another thing people are paranoid about is what really is going to happen to your body when you have the vaccine or what the vaccines "true purpose" is supposed to be.

The first Covid-19 vaccines contained genetic material called mRNA. It allows a faster approach than the traditional way that vaccines are made. Our bodies can convert DNA into mRNA. Because COVID-19 is so contagious and is spreading like crazy, it did not take long to see if the vaccine worked on the study volunteers who were vaccinated.

Another claim is that the vaccine makes you even more sick. There are many common reactions that have been happening such as pain, redness or swelling where the shot was given, fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, nausea and vomiting and even swollen lymph nodes. There’s also a very small fraction getting what’s known as Bell’s palsy and allergic reactions. They don’t contain Covid-19 therefore you cant receive Covid-19 from getting vaccinated. Even if you’ve already had Covid-19 you should still get the vaccine just to be sure. Getting the vaccine does not make you immune

for life. Its unknown how long it will last. Getting it does not mean you do not need to wear a mask anymore.

Another myth is that the vaccine includes a tracking device being put into everybody and that the Covid-19 vaccine causes infertility in women. This information is false. Experts confirmed that it is too short to trigger a response. There’s an amino acid sequence between the spike and a placental protein. Many people have the mindset of “Well I’m not at risk for severe complications of Covid-19 so I don’t need the vaccine.”

Regardless of if your risks are severe or not you don’t know the damage it can do to those around you who are sensitive to illnesses like Covid-19 or even the flu. So you should still consider getting vaccinated to protect those who are around you when in public. you can still get infected and spread it onto others. you can not get Covid-19 from the vaccine because it does not contain a live strand. Many people are refusing to get it because they believe it’s supposed to control the population through microchip tracking.

Covid shotThis is not true therefore the panic is irrelevant. The vaccine is certainly not going to track anyone or collect information about you. This misleading information was from mistook comments from Bill Gates The FDA told companies their products would have to be more than 50% effective to get approval. Pfizer and Moderna (2 of the companies making vaccines) both proved to be 95% efficient in their clinical trials. As for the AstraZeneca vaccine, it was at 90% efficiency except for one dose only making it up to 62%. No data is shown for studies of children and pregnant women.

It has not been confirmed whether the vaccine lowers the amount of virus enough to keep a person from getting sick or prevents infection all together. Pfizer and Moderna released information about side effects regarding the vaccine but AstraZeneca has not released any details. All companies expect to produce over 1 billion doses globally in 2021.

Pfizer’s needs special cold freezers that aren’t normally available outside academic medical centers and lasts up to five days in the refrigerator. It

needs to be at -94 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes a big gap in similarities between the companies. AstraZeneca is the easiest as it lasts up to 6 months in the refrigerator and Modernas lasts up to at least a month in the refrigerator. The cheapest of the three companies is Astra- Zeneca.

Pfizer currently has about 1000 participants in the 12-15 year old age group enrolled in their trial of clinical testings.There are many differences between these three companies that you should look into when deciding which company to choose when getting vaccinated along with the prices.

Every detail can make a difference and if you have allergies you should talk to a doctor and have them help you make a decision on which company would be best for you. Many myths about the Covid-19 vaccine can give you misleading information making you paranoid as to whether you should get the vaccine or not.

Immunization saves many lives every year. While the majority of medicines treat or cure diseases, vaccines help prevent diseases by working with your body’s

natural defenses to build protection. When you get a vaccine, your immune system begins to respond. One of the vaccines only uses one shot but all the others use two shots to be effective.

Just washing your hands, wearing a mask and staying 6 feet away from people won’t prevent covid it will only reduce the risk of spreading, that’s why the vaccine is necessary. Wearing a mask is mandatory even after getting a vaccine. Many people with disabilities and things like diabetes, asthma, and obesity have a higher risk for Covid-19.

If you’re unsure when to get your vaccine these are phases. Phase 1a are healthcare workers. Phase 1b is adults who are 75 years and older and essential workers. Phase 1c is for adults who are 65 years and older, people 16 years and older who have huge risk medical conditions, and essential workers who were not in Phase 1b. Phase 2 is people 16 and older. There’s no updates on young children. Taking these steps is the best way to end Covid-19 so we can go back to our normal lives.