By Naomi Bloom
STAFF WRITER
A COVID-19 vaccine has been produced and recently put to use. While today’s technology, science, and people uniting because of the global pandemic has helped to get the vaccine out in just under a year, there are some who are more worried about the safety of it than they are excited by its benefits.
According to the Pew Research Center last month, 62 percent of adults in the U.S said they would not be comfortable being in one of the first groups to receive the vaccine and 39 percent of adults in the U.S. say they would not get the vaccine. One of the study’s main factors that played a role in the participants’ opinions was their trust in the safety of the vaccine and whether the “research and development process will yield a safe and effective vaccine.”
Despite these statistics, everyone interviewed by ANDOVERVIEW thought the vaccine was safe. According to NBC News, there are more than 4,000 deaths from COVID-19 every day in the U.S., so it’s more important than ever to find a solution. Sophomore Yash Kalwani said the vaccine being produced so quickly is great because we don’t have to “live in this depressing pandemic anymore.”
Senior Lina Dicovitsky said she “would have wanted at least a few months more just to be sure [the vaccine is] perfected,” but that since it will save millions of lives, she is “all for it.”
While the vaccine was produced far faster than those in the past, that doesn’t mean that it’s any less safe.
“The speed of its development doesn’t concern me,” said Alan Kalf, an AHS biology and chemistry teacher. “The amount of technology and the number of hours put into this development are incredible, and I don’t think it would have been possible 10 or 20 years ago. Don’t equate ‘fast’ with ‘haphazard.’”
As well as better technology speeding up the development of the vaccine, another factor that helped a lot was the large amount of funding and worldwide collaboration. According to the World Health Organization, by April 18, more than $125 million were raised to fund the development of the vaccine. The first COVID-19 vaccines are also being used under Emergency Use Authorizations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since the vaccine is “one of the many important tools to help us stop the pandemic,” according to a statement from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
On top of this, the CDC and FDA are monitoring reports of allergic reactions to the vaccine and people who receive the vaccine are monitored on site for 15 to 30 minutes to make sure the recipient doesn’t have a negative reaction to it, which is an important thing. Some common reactions and side effects that have been noted by the CDC are fever, chills, tiredness, and headaches, and the area on the arm where you get the shot may hurt later or have a bit of swelling.
Rita Casper, the Director of Nursing Services in Andover, said she already received her first dose of the vaccine and didn’t experience any significant side effects. She also noted many of her colleagues who received it didn’t experience any significant side effects either.
“No medication or vaccine is provided without some risk,” she told ANDOVERVIEW. “There is still much we don’t know about this one, however, if it can provide some protection from the virus, it has the potential to be extremely valuable… I think it’s worth it when you weigh the medical risks of not having the vaccine.”
Sophomore Shannon Chu agrees: “I think it’s safe enough that people should take it if they can, and I would too… By the time the vaccine gets to us, many people will already have taken it and we will see if there are any other effects that weren’t seen during testing… I don’t think the side effects will be worse than getting COVID.”
As of now, the vaccine is being administered in phases: Those in Phase 1a, the first to receive it, were healthcare personnel and those in long-term care facilities. Phase 1b went out to frontline essential workers and those over 75 years old. After that, Phase 1c is for those who are 65 to 74 years old, those over 16 with underlying medical conditions, and other essential workers. The CDC stated that as the availability of the vaccine increases, more people in other groups will be able to get vaccinated.
