A lot of people are nervous about the Covid-19 vaccines and some people don’t even believe it’s going to work. Some of the common concerns I hear just as a student in my everyday life are how it’s too new, how we don’t know the effects of the vaccines years from now and even how it’s a conspiracy that the government is trying to control us with the vaccines.
No matter what you believe, here are the facts. As of today when I’m writing, there are three Covid-19 vaccines: Moderna, Pfizer and the new Johnson and Johnson vaccine. According to the CDC the Moderna vaccine requires two doses and is 94.1% effective. Pfizer, similarly to Moderna, also requires two doses. According to the Pfizer website the vaccine is 95% effective. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is a new vaccine that only requires one dose, but it’s not as effective as others. According to the Johnson and Johnson website the vaccine proved to be 85% effective during trials.
When I got the opportunity to get the Moderna vaccine, I jumped on the opportunity. I have to admit I was nervous at first, but when I weighed the pros and cons, for me personally, I knew I had to do it.
The process was pretty simple to make the appointment. I just contacted the Kansas Health Department and they were able to give me instructions from there on how to make my appointment. I later received an email confirmation with my time and date and further instructions.
When my appointment time came I went to my vaccination destination and brought all necessary paperwork and a valid state ID. I got right in and got my 1st dose of the Moderna vaccine. With the first dose I had no side effects except for soreness at the injection site.
Note, after you get the shot you are going to get a little white piece of paper with the time and date you got your first shot. Make sure to keep this- you’ll need to bring it back when you get your second dose.
The second dose is known to get people sick. I went and got my second dose and didn’t feel any side effects till the next day. The next day I felt terrible. All my muscles were sore and my joints ached as well. I even had hot flashes. This lasted for max 24 hours.
Approximately two weeks after I got the vaccine, my roommate got Covid. Normal Covid precaution for KU is to automatically move the individual with Covid out of the dorm and have their roommate self quarantine. Well for some reason, though she got tested through the school, nobody contacted her with instruction to move. So, I lived with a person who had Covid-19 in a small dorm room, where we were within 6 feet of each other at all times. Not once did I ever cough or feel sick.
It felt so surreal to me, here I was living with someone who had Covid-19, a sickness that I have been terrified of for over a year now, not getting sick. This is proof that the Covid-19 vaccine works.
If you get the option to receive the vaccine, please consider it. Once we are able to get more people vaccinated against Covid-19 we will start to develop herd immunity and the spread will start to slow down. So please, if we want to get back to normal life consider getting the vaccine. Trust me, it actually works.
