As the COVID-19 vaccine has become available to anyone 16 and above, Bruins divulged their opinions on its effectiveness and whether or not they plan to get it.
The process of getting the vaccine requires two shots, a few weeks apart. Sophomore Robert Maple has already been vaccinated and explained his experience.
“The vaccination process might be a little different for me than it was for other people,” he said. “I was able to get mine because my mom is a doctor so she knew that a vaccine appointment was cancelled last minute and that the vaccine was about to expire, so I was allowed to get the shot. I believe that in the normal process there are a few resources you could use to get an appointment. I think my parents used [myturn.ca.gov] to find an appointment for me.”
Science Teacher Jennifer Weir expressed her satisfaction with the vaccination process.
“My experience was great,” said Mrs. Weir. “The county educator vaccination clinic was very well organized and easy to navigate. I also did not have any major side-effects after receiving the vaccine, just a sore arm.”
Mrs. Weir also highly recommended students getting vaccinated.
“I definitely think students should get the vaccine,” she said. “The FDA has approved the vaccine for ages 16 and older. My daughter, who is 20, got vaccinated and if I had a child that was 16 or older I would have them vaccinated unless that child had medical reasons why they should not.”
Freshman Elaine Owyoung, who is not old enough to get the vaccine, addressed and approved the age restriction.
“The age restriction of the Coronavirus vaccines are both fully understandable and also supported by me,” said Owyoung. “Due to teens and younger children with stronger respiratory systems being less affected by the disease, giving seniors and people with health conditions (that make them more vulnerable to the disease) is clearly well thought out.”
Owyoung suggested that students should try to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“If someone is given the chance to get vaccinated, take it!” she said. “I highly advise, if given the chance, one should get vaccinated.”
Maple agreed with Owyoung, encouraging students to jump on the chance of getting the vaccine.
“I absolutely believe that students should get vaccinated,” said Maple. “Getting vaccinated will help everyone return to a normal lifestyle much quicker. With vaccines, we can acquire herd immunity without making everyone get the actual virus which would probably kill many thousands of people.”
Sophomore Austin Phipps has a different take on the urgency of getting vaccinated. He explained why he is not in any rush to get it right now.
“At the moment, I don’t have any plans to get vaccinated,” said Phipps. “I spend the majority of my time at home and all of the time I do spend in public is at school, safety precautions are regulated and I wear my mask all day anyways. I don’t have anything against the vaccine since it’s had no reports of harmful side effects, but I don’t see any reason for me to go and take a vaccine that somebody else could actually use more than I could.”
Phipps added that people should remain cautious even with the vaccine.
“Although the word ‘vaccine’ makes many people think that getting the COVID shot will make them immune completely to COVID, that just isn’t the case,” he said. “After you get the vaccine you still have to make sure to maintain your distance from others and wear a mask to protect yourself and to make sure you don’t spread COVID to others on the off chance that you still catch it.”
Mrs. Weir expressed her joy of being able to hug her mother again with the security of both of them being vaccinated.
“It was wonderful to hug my mom after her 2-week waiting period post second vaccine dose,” said Mrs. Weir. “It had been over a year since I had hugged her!”
