There has been a lot of controversy, especially in recent years, of getting vaccinated or wearing a mask. However, I think we can all agree that if there’s a possible cure or immunity to this virus we all have been fighting for almost a year, why wouldn’t we take it?

One article in the Ames Tribune states that “CVS and Walgreens stores in several Iowa counties will provide coronavirus vaccinations to about 32,000 Iowa seniors…the pharmacies will be distributing shots left over from the effort to vaccinate residents and staff at nursing homes and assisted-living centers.” I completely agree with the government’s decision to create a hierarchy for who gets the COVID-19 vaccine first. 

The first set of people to get the vaccine should be health care workers. However, after that, it could be argued that people who work in a corporate setting should be given the vaccine second or elderly people should. However, as the hierarchy goes, second to be allowed to have the vaccine are those who have underlying conditions that put them at a higher risk and elderly adults in densely populated places. Eventually, and thankfully, the vaccine will be available for everyone. 

While the vaccine may not “cure” COVID-19, due to the fact it is constantly mutating into new strands of itself, one can only hope that the COVID-19 vaccine will protect those who have gotten it from contracting COVID-19. “There are two main types of immunity you can achieve with vaccines.

“One is so-called ‘effective’ immunity, which can prevent a pathogen from causing serious disease, but can’t stop it from entering the body or making more copies of itself. The other is ‘sterilising immunity,’ which can thwart infections entirely, and even prevent asymptomatic cases,” states one article from BBC.com.

The article also said that it is rare to have “sterilising immunity” with a vaccine, therefore, we can assume that the COVID-19 vaccine that is being given out will prevent the pathogen from causing serious disease if it is to be contracted by someone who has the vaccine. 

As many others have, I would like to compare the COVID-19 vaccine with the flu shot that we are suggested to get every fall. Even though people who get the flu shot should be, and likely are, immune to the flu if they are to encounter it, there is still the risk that they could contract the flu even with the flu shot.

One article states that “[The] flu vaccination reduces the risk of flu illness between 40% and 60%…sometimes people are already exposed to flu virus before getting a flu shot…it may take a couple of weeks for a dose of flu vaccine to protect against the virus.” Saying that, the main difference between the flu shot and the COVID-19 vaccine is that the flu shot injects the virus into one’s system while the COVID-19 vaccine helps your body make antibodies that help fight off the COVID-19 virus if you were to contract it.

In the end, it is your choice whether you want the vaccine. No one can force you to get it. But studies have provided you with information that proves it will help you, not hurt you.