By Allen Valdez, Feb. 23, 2021
As we grind through the turbulent times of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines are starting to roll out across the country and the world. Everyone should be happy that this nightmarish past year should soon come to an end, right? Well … maybe not.
Many are skeptical and hesitant about receiving a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine if offered one today. Now the reasoning might be personal; I get that. But most of what I’m seeing on social media is political, and I just wish people would put their faith in science and statistics rather than conspiracy theories.
It’s frustrating seeing the amount of people that would pass up getting vaccinated. The most important thing in my life right now is making sure I get that vaccine not only for me, but especially for my family.
It breaks my heart to see how terrified my parents are of contracting the virus given that they’re labeled “high risk” people. We, as a society, have sacrificed so much since the start of this pandemic. I certainly have, quitting my job just to eliminate risk and to help protect my parents who have since transitioned to working from home.
What I’m trying to say is that with the vaccines being administered, I wish people considered fact, rather than fiction. Do your research, find out the facts for yourself and see if the vaccine is something that you would be interested in rather than flat out refusing to get it just because of your political loyalties, to be dramatic or, even worse, belief in people’s words who have no medical credibility whatsoever.
I know that many of us want to go back to our normal lives, if that is something that is still even possible at this point. I want to stop living in fear every single day of my life like I have been for the past year. This feeling of anxiety whenever I leave the comfort of my own home or so much as so hang out with a few friends has taken a toll on me.
I’m tired of having to take so many precautions every day like putting on a mask whenever I want to go out. I don’t even remember the last time I got a breath of fresh air outside my house without my mask on.
The biggest concerns people have about the vaccine is what is in them, how safe they are and how effective they are. I would just like to ask why this isn’t brought up whenever a doctor prescribes you medicine or when you get your flu shot once a year.
I understand that it may feel rushed to some of you, but do you really think that they would start giving out shots if they were even the slightest bit unsafe?
People put all sorts of things into their bodies without knowing what they really are but when it comes to the vaccine, they question everything about it instead of trusting those that spent countless years and months struggling to make sure that we get a vaccine to help end this pandemic.
I’d rather take my chance on whatever comes with taking the vaccine, knowing full well that science will back me up, rather than continuing to live in fear for myself and my family and I know I’m not the only one.
To be honest, I envy those that live their life with no fear. I wish I could be like you, but I’m not and I can’t. I can’t move on with my life until I get that vaccine, and that can’t come soon enough.
There is still a lot of time before I am eligible to get vaccinated. This means there is a lot of time where I can still contract the virus, spread it to my loved ones and put them in danger. This has loomed in mind every day, hour, minute and second of this past year.
One day, this pandemic will be a thing of the past and I’ll sleep well knowing I did the right thing. I hope you will too.