OPINION: COVID vaccine is worth taking

COVID-19 has arguably been the biggest problem in the world for over a year now. With thousands of cases and deaths, this pandemic has completely changed how society is able to function. To keep everybody safe, the US has been in a state of on again off again lockdown and the question that everybody keeps asking is when does life get back to normal? It starts with getting the vaccine. 

Getting the COVID-19 vaccine is the first step into getting life back to normal. The current ones that are currently circulating in the United States are Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. Pfizer and Moderna are a two step process separated by about a month and Johnson & Johnson is a one and done vaccine.

The three different vaccines all will protect against COVID in a variety of percentages. Pfizer is 95.3 percent effective, Moderna is 94 percent effective, and Johnson & Johnson is 74 percent effective in the US (StatNews). Though Johnson & Johnson has been reported to have caused blood clots in some people, Pfizer and Moderna have done a great job at keeping people safe and have had very limited side effects.

Though there are some very accurate concerns surrounding the vaccine, a lot of the statistics and myths are not true. There are no government tracking devices and thousands of people are not dying from the vaccine — in fact, there have not been any credible reports of a death due to the vaccine.

Getting this vaccine is the beginning of this road back to normalcy. The quicker everybody goes out and gets vaccinated, the better chance there is to get a sense of normalcy back into life altogether. The positives severely outweigh the negatives and in the long run, it is what is best to get back to a normal way of life. It is urgent for people 16 and older to get the vaccine and keep those who have real reasons not to get vaccinated safe.