I want YOU to get vaccinated! I have a Comic 4 You!

There are many misconceptions about comics, the main two being that they are only about superheroes or are just there for the Sunday funnies in newspapers. So, to divorce you from any misunderstandings that you have about the comic medium, my first recommendation and review are for a series called “Amelia Rules!” by Jimmy Gownley.

To summarize, the comic is about a girl named Amelia who moves from New York to a small town after her parents get divorced. We then follow her adventures from having to deal with being the new kid to seeing her mom start dating again. This simple narrative is exactly why “Amelia Rules!” is a great starting point for comic beginners: you don't need to have any background knowledge on any of the characters or pick a specific year or series line, like for superhero comics.

As the semester kicks off to a crowded “de-densified” start, we predictably see our phones notifying us every day of a new long list of COVID-19 positive students. In order to ensure the true safety of the UTD community and surrounding areas, it's really no question at this point: all students need to get vaccinated.

It’s surprising when we look at the small population of college students who have reported their vaccination status. According to OEMCP statistics, as of Sept. 3, 2021, only 68.51% of the UTD student body has reported being fully vaccinated. Experts are still unsure about the exact percentage of a population that needs to be vaccinated for herd immunity, but some estimates range as high as 90%. Here at UTD, it’s even gotten to the point that students are receiving generous monetary rewards in exchange for getting vaccinated (because if $125 won’t incentivize students to get jabbed, then what will?)

This is ironic when we see people in other countries waiting for months and even paying off healthcare workers in order to receive a vaccine for themselves. Unfortunately, that’s how desperate we’ve gotten to get the UTD community as close to fully vaccinated as possible. With COVID-19 cases on the rise and the potential of another completely virtual semester looming over our heads, vaccinations are our only chance at achieving herd immunity.

The term “herd immunity” widely refers to when a sizable community devel- ops immunity to a certain disease, thus significantly decreasing the spread. It’s crucial during a time of mass infection because when immunity becomes more ubiquitous, the disease becomes harder to spread and eventually gets wiped out.

This concept has been demonstrated in several outbreaks from Polio in the 1950s all the way to H1N1 in 2009.

Researchers describe two ways to achieve herd immunity: natural infection and vaccines. Sure enough, only one of these options seems to be the most effective within a short period of time.

If we depend only on natural infection, experts estimate that 70% of the population would have to suffer and recover from COVID-19 before case numbers would start to slow down.

Timothy Bray, associate professor of public policy and political economy, said that herd immunity would have no impact on campus if it is not universal. This means that even if nearly 70% of students are vaccinated in one dorm but not another, we haven’t achieved herd immunity since the risk of transmission in one area is still too high.

A questionnaire conducted by epidemiologists at CU Boulder shed some light on why college students are reluctant to get vaccinated. Many are understandably wary of its side effects or are under the impression that their young and healthy bodies could recover easily from COVID-19 without help from the vaccine. Fear of the unknown is understandable but not corroborated. Long-term complications from

But like many Sunday funnies, the comic is about a child doing childhood-related things (playing outside with friends, going to school and getting in trouble), but it's also much deeper than that. The series manages to be a lighthearted read while still touching upon heavy subjects. For example, Amelia — the series’ protagonist — has to deal with the aftermath of her parent’s divorce, losing touch with close friends and being an outsider in a new place.

Main character aside, the side characters are equally as complex, and the series does a great job of subtlety showing their personas even when the focus of a scene is on Amelia. For instance, whenever Amelia’s having a dilemma and reaches out to her aunt Tanner for advice or guidance, one gets to see how there is depth to her aunt's chill persona.