Students Offer Perspective on COVID-19 Vaccine
By: Davaughnia Wilson | Published by February 24, 2021
University students have differing opinions on the benefits, if any, of the COVID-19 vaccine, and most are torn between taking and not taking the vaccine when it becomes available to them.
Kean student giving an essential worker a dosage of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Some students announced that they are willing to take the vaccine to protect themselves and their loved ones. Others, however, are fully against it claiming that there isn’t much research on the long-term effects of the vaccine.
“In order to move forward and get back to a normal life, everyone needs to take it,” sophomore Mallory Helmes said.
Roshorn Shiver Junior, President of the Greek Senate, Kean Gospel Choir, and treasurer for Friends for Children with Cancer, stated that he won’t be taking the vaccine unless he is required to take it for graduate school.
University students wearing masks and social distancing. Photo Credits: Kean University’s Instagram page.
“I feel like I’ve been taking the natural precautions to help me from not contracting the virus,” Shivers said.
Shivers indicated that the vaccine has the correct ingredients to prevent citizens from contracting the virus. However, even after taking the vaccine, if citizens aren’t taking the necessary precautions, they will still be at risk.
The CDC advises that even after receiving two doses of the vaccine, a mask should still be worn, and social distancing is still highly recommended to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The CDC stated that they are currently unaware if the COVID-19 vaccine will prevent the spread of the virus that causes other people to get COVID-19, even if the vaccinated individual does not get sick.
Helmes mentioned that since only a few Americans have received a dosage of the vaccine it is hard to tell if it is successful. Many Americans believe that the vaccine has been rushed, but Helmes is confident that it has successfully passed all the tests and trials before it was announced to the public.
“I got my first shot a few weeks ago, Moderna,” Maria Irvin, a Communication major, and social media manager for Kean TV said. “I did not feel anything, it was sore after, but I didn’t feel any side effects. I know some people got a fever.”
As listed on the CDC’s website under, After Getting the Vaccine, common side effects include fever, chills, tiredness, headaches, along with pain and swelling in the arm you received the vaccine.
Irvin indicated that she received her vaccination at the RWJ Hospital due to having a heart defect.
“You don’t get a choice on what shot you’re getting. I secretly wanted Moderna,” Irvin said.
University Alumnus working at the COVID-19 lab.
Kean University’s Instagram page.
According to the CDC, there are two authorized and recommended vaccines to prevent COVID-19, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
“Due to the fact that there are many conditions that we as students might have that we might not know about taking the vaccine might affect that,” Shivers said.
With the pandemic, there are many useful resources students can utilize, such as people from the medical field. Consulting a medical professional and asking questions is very beneficial if students are unsure of how to treat or prevent COVID-19, and to gain more knowledge about the vaccine.
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