Sandra Lindsay, a critical care nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York, was the first person in the United States to be vaccinated against COVID-19 nearly a year after the pandemic began. In December, Lindsay received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
She said that she was the first to take the vaccine in hopes of leading by example, especially for communities of Black and brown people, being that she is a Black woman from the country of Jamaica. Since then, everyday people and medical professionals alike have all been talking about the COVID-19 vaccines.
Along with discussing if people should or shouldn’t get the vaccine, there’s also been much discrepancy over which vaccine people should opt for. Currently, there are three vaccines that are authorized by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the Moderna vaccine, and the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccine are the first ever mRNA vaccines brought to the market for human patients, whereas the Johson & Johnson vaccine uses the more traditional virus-based technology.
According to the latest data provided by the CDC, https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations, over one fourth of the United States’ population has been vaccinated. On April 1, people over the age of 16 years old, who live, study, or work in Connecticut became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines.
Emma Atkinson, a senior advertising and integrated communications major at Quinnipiac University, said she decided to take the COVID-19 vaccine because she felt as though it was her social responsibility. “It’s been a stressful year, we all just want to move past this,” said Atkinson. She took her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on April 5 at a Walgreens in Wallingford, Connecticut. “I’m just relieved to be on track. I’m not concerned about the long-term effects of the covid vaccine because the long lasting effects of covid are even worse,” said Atkinson.
Samantha Simon, a junior journalism major at Quinnipiac, said that although the COVID vaccines are the first ever mRNA vaccines to be brought to the market for human patients, she is confident in the covid vaccines. “It makes me feel like science has made necessary strides in order to keep people healthy. I know that mRNA has been researched for over a decade, so I am pretty confident,” said Simon.
She added that the Johnson and Johnson vaccine isn’t mRNA and that there have been more problems with that vaccine, than with the other ones. “I think no matter what, this is a huge step in the medical field. Maybe mRNA will be used in the future for other vaccines as well.” Simon says that she took her first dose in March back home in Queens, and that people interested can use the site, TurboVax to check for covid appointments in the NYC area.
Though some Quinnipiac students on campus have already received their first vaccine dose, others are shying away. Darius Chester, a senior computer information systems major, is taking classes remotely this semester and finishing college at home in Long Island. He says that he is not planning on taking the COVID vaccine because he is uncertain about what the contents of the vaccines are.
“No one knows what kind of effects the vaccines can have in the long term because the vaccine just came out. I understand what the purpose of the vaccine is but it is too risky to take it right now,” added Chester. He says that as long as he takes precautions like social distancing, wearing face coverings, and not attending large gatherings, he thinks he will be fine.
However, it isn’t just students who have a lot to say about vaccines. Dr.Kijana Nix, a freelance pediatrician with Rowedocs, said that she took the Pfizer vaccine to protect herself, her family and her community. Dr.Nix also got the chance to speak with Dr.Lindsay, as they are both medical professionals in the U.S. who are from Jamaica. She took her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on January 26 at the Howard University Hospital, and says that she’s been fine and hasn’t had any strange side effects.
As for the mRNA vaccines, she explained how it works to clear up confusion about it. “It’s teaching your cells how to make the protein to trigger an immune response inside of your body so you can fight the protein that’s harmful from covid. The mRNA basically gives instructions to create antibodies to fight the covid spike protein,” said Dr.Nix. She added that the mRNA never gets to your nucleus and it doesn’t stay in your system, it breaks down after a while.
She said that as a pediatrician, she administers vaccines, and sees the importance of them. “I’m a part of medical missions trips and I see the effects of all of these diseases that vaccines now help to get rid of.”
Dr.Nix said that we’ve gotten to a phase where people don’t believe in science because we don’t see all of those diseases anymore, due to herd immunity. She added that, “The people enrolled in the studies are the real heroes. We all want the same common goal of getting back to normalcy.”
On April 13, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine was put on pause, according to the FDA and CDC. This news came after almost 7 million Americans received their one dose of the vaccine. However, six rare cases were reported in the U.S. by women between ages 18 to 48, of severe blood clotting after receiving the J & J vaccine. Though this is alarming to many people, others still stand by their choice of taking the J & J vaccine.
Andrew White, a senior journalism and economics major, took one of the last Johnson and Johnson vaccines administered in Connecticut, before the company’s temporary pause. He said he chose to take it because it was the most traditional vaccine, out of all of the ones offered and was not a mRNA vaccine.
He said that when he received several texts saying that the J & J vaccine was recalled, he was nervous. “I was nervous at first about the recall but the blood clotting cases were very rare and I was aware that there were going to be some risks. Johnson and Johnson is still my favorite pick,” said White.
Colette Anthony-Jackson, a liaison at Yale University Hospital in New Haven says that she was hit hard by COVID not too long ago. She said that she had dragging COVID symptoms but within three days of taking the Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine, her symptoms improved greatly.
Anthony-Jackson said that she made her choice because she’d prefer to take one dose over two doses and preferred J & J to fight against the deadly effects of covid. “Of course I am concerned about the contents of the vaccine but this is poison to fight the poison from covid. I’ve been diabetic for 35 years, and I couldn’t leave myself out there with an underlying condition,” said Anthony-Jackson. She adds that if your immunity isn’t high then you are at risk, but if you can figure out how to fight the deadly effects of covid without the vaccine, then go ahead. Federal health officials have lifted the pause on the J&J vaccine, allowing states to resume distributing it, but with a warning about the possible blood clot complications.
Forward looking, as more and more people get vaccinated and in hopes of returning to normalcy, Connecticut has issued more relaxed rules. The CDC announced on April 27 that masks are no longer required outdoors for people who are vaccinated.
Starting May 1, restaurants in Connecticut can extend hours and operate until midnight, and there will no longer be table size limits. As of May 19, all remaining business restrictions will be lifted, including stadium capacity and event venue limits.
For those who aren’t vaccinated, it is urged to keep wearing masks at outdoor restaurants or places where other unvaccinated people are. In efforts to urge people to get vaccinated, CT governor Ned Lamont has implemented a “get a drink on us” program, where those fully vaccinated can get a free drink at participating CT restaurants. This program will be in effect from May 19-31. For more information, you can visit https://www.ctvisit.com/articles/DrinksOnUs.
