Most medical professionals will say that vaccination is the key to keeping the world healthier from infectious diseases. Most of us have received more than a dozen vaccines in our lifetime, such as the flu, meningitis, tetanus, chickenpox, HPV, and more vaccines. There are many other vaccines most people choose to get without really thinking about what’s in them, such as the flu shot, but now people are raising questions.

Ever since the Covid-19 vaccine became approved by the FDA for emergency use authorization, many people are questioning whether they should get it. Some people find it suspicious that it only took one year to create it, while most other vaccines have taken five or more years to be developed.

Some people are afraid of the fact that they don’t know the long term effects of the COVID-19 vaccine yet. Although more than 60% of the U.S. population has been vaccinated with their first dose, there are still a lot more people who haven’t been vaccinated yet. Some might say this is because people haven’t had time to get vaccinated, but it’s already been readily available for more than six months. Booking an appointment is easy too, since there are vaccination sites everywhere around the U.S.

So why isn’t almost half of the U.S. population vaccinated, and who are these unvaccinated people? Morgan students shared their vaccination status.

Interviews

Sophomore, Tyler Shroder: “I am vaccinated because it makes life easier. I worry about Covid-19 less, and you have less of a risk of getting quarantined from having close contact with someone else with COVID-19.”

Sophomore, Riley Kuever: “I am vaccinated, I felt it was a smart decision to make at the time because my parents have health issues. I wanted to make sure they were safe. Now that I’m vaccinated, I’m not as afraid of COVID-19 as before, but I’m still a bit afraid.”

Freshman Mia Colon: “I am not vaccinated because I haven’t had the time to get vaccinated, and it is not at the top of my priorities.”

Freshman Liliana Novicki: “I am not vaccinated because I don’t believe in it. The fact that you can still contract COVID-19 even if you’re vaccinated, so the precautions we avoid having to take by getting vaccinated mean nothing. I feel like society is forcing me to get vaccinated, but I am still not going to.”

Freshman Jenna Wayne: “I am vaccinated, and I believe that everyone should be vaccinated so that you get the freedom to go out and do things with your friends without being worried about getting Covid-19. I was worried before I took the vaccine, not because of the vaccine itself, but the fact that there is a needle. Though, I believe that getting vaccinated to protect yourself and others is important, and the fear of needles did not stop me.”

Sophomore Leah Scoppa: “I am vaccinated because I believe that it’s important to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community. I was afraid before I took the vaccine, not because of the vaccine itself, but because of the needle, and it did not hurt as much as I thought it would!”

According to school nurse, Margaret Zarcone from the health office, they currently do not have the total number of all the students vaccinated. To get an accurate count, students have to email their vaccination cards to the health office. Only 25% of students have handed in their vaccination cards so far. Although, there is estimated to be significantly more students vaccinated.

From the interviews, most students are vaccinated and are in full support of it, but there are a small few who are not vaccinated, either because they haven’t had the time or they do not support it. According to CT DATA, 76.6% of eligible Clinton residents have been vaccinated with their first dose.