Why Everyone Should Be Ready and Willing to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine

The past year has been tumultuous, to say the least. To be a bit more descriptive, the past year has been an absolute disaster for almost everyone, bringing stress, isolation, and anxiety as COVID-19 spread throughout the world. But finally, there is a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel: In December, the FDA approved two vaccines that are effective against COVID-19. 

Unfortunately, what should have been an advancement everyone is celebrating (socially distanced, of course), has brought yet another obstacle to overcome: Now that there is a vaccine, people have to be convinced to receive it. As of December, only six in ten Americans intended to get a vaccine if it were to be approved. About four in ten Americans said they “definitely or probably would not” be inoculated if given the opportunity. 

Much of the anti-vaccine propaganda in America stems from two places: 1.) a doctor (who has since been stripped of his medical license) who falsely tied vaccines with the presence of autism in children and 2.) cultural values. While the former seems to be an easier issue to counteract through public education and awareness about vaccines, the latter is more complex. Certain religions or religious denominations do not allow vaccination or object to materials used to create vaccinations. Other people, in the true spirit of American individualism, simply do not want to be vaccinated, despite the global pandemic.

Recently, public figures such as Mike Pence, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris have all been vaccinated in efforts to raise public support for the vaccine.

At this point in the pandemic, vaccination seems to be the only way forward. If Americans ever want to return to their pre-COVID lifestyles, complete with international travel, large social gatherings, and time spent in crowded public spaces, they need to accept inoculation as the responsible move–and then roll up their sleeves and get out the Band-Aids.