Why You Should Get the COVID Vaccine

If you had asked me a year ago, or in fact even six months ago, if I wanted to get vaccinated, I would have answered no. At the time, there was a lot of fear mongering going around on social media about how the COVID vaccines were being rushed and that they could potentially cause a lot of side effects.

I remember thinking to myself, as long as I stay home, what’s the harm? I’ll wait it out a year or two until they roll out the second version of the vaccine or at least until I see what the side effects are. Then I’ll decide if I want to get the vaccine or not.

Six months, and some 500,000 plus cases later, I realized how selfish and ignorant that initial reaction was.

Why do we need to get vaccinated? 

Apart from the obvious that the COVID vaccine will protect you, or at least reduce your risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus, vaccines play another important role. It has something to do with what is called herd immunity and which is why a lot of us need to get vaccinated quickly. The vaccines available cannot be given to those above a certain age and to children. This is a scary thought because this leaves them vulnerable to COVID-19. So, to help them, we, as a country, need to develop herd immunity by vaccinating as many people as possible and getting the country immune to COVID-19. If enough people are immune to COVID-19, the virus will find it difficult to find a host, limiting the spread. This saves the lives of those who cannot be vaccinated and is the importance of vaccination in public health.

If you still find yourself asking “should I get the COVID vaccine?,” here’s a quick checklist to see if you can get it:

• Are not pregnant or breastfeeding

• Have not had COVID-19 in the past 3 months

• Are not allergic to other vaccines

• Do not have any other underlying health conditions

• Are not immunocompromised

If you have access to the COVID-19 vaccine, by all means take it. And don’t be picky. A vaccine is a vaccine. While you may hear news from your tita’s Viber groups about how one vaccine may be better than another, there are actually studies showing that you cannot compare vaccine efficacies with one another. The best vaccine is still the one in your arm.

Please remember that when you get vaccinated, you’re not just protecting yourself and your loved ones from the COVID-19 virus. You’re protecting everyone else in the country who cannot get the vaccine, no matter how much they want to get it themselves. If we want to beat the virus, we have to work together and achieve herd immunity.

I’m glad I was educated by friends and changed my mind about the vaccine. I hope this article has helped you gained insight about why we should get vaccines and that hopefully, it changes your mind as well.