The COVID-19 pandemic has been the main focus of 2020 and the transmission rate does not seem to be slowing down. Many Americans have lost loved ones to this contagious virus, but with the recent distribution of a vaccine, there is hope that this is the beginning of the end.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 11, 2020. Doses were issued to different states across the United States. The first people who are getting vaccinated are workers in care homes, elders who are older than 80, and Neighborhood Health Centers (NHC). A reported 31,000 doses of the COVID-19 Vaccines were delivered to the State of Washington this week and more are expected in the upcoming days.
Members of the Camas community provided feedback about the newly developed vaccine, which only took about 10 months to develop.
Camas High School Nurse Joan Haugaard, about her thoughts on the newly developed COVID-19 Vaccine. She is very excited about the news and will be getting the vaccine too.
“The vaccine is showing 95% efficiency that is very good for a vaccine! I am hopeful that a large number of people will get vaccinated so we can end this pandemic,” she said.
She thinks in order to go back to normalcy and end the COVID-19 pandemic, we will need to have a mass scale vaccination program. Nurse Haugaard plans on getting a shirt with the phrase, “DON’T WAIT. VACCINATE!”
Camas Superintendent Jeff Snell was happy when he heard that the vaccine was ready to be distributed.
Snell said, “I’m excited about the vaccine and grateful for all of the work that went into its development and now distribution”. Snell believes that the norm is uncertain at the moment, but says we have learned a lot through the pandemic about flexibility and hopes we can incorporate that into whatever the new norm will be in the future. Once he has the opportunity, he will get vaccinated.”
One student expressed how crucial the vaccine is to prevent people from being openly exposed to COVID-19 and having the ability to socially see people again.
Sophomore Dylan Faddis said, “We haven’t been able to see a majority of our family or friends during this whole quarantine.”
Faddis shared that he has multiple family members who are studying COVID-19 and everybody is open to taking it, the moment it becomes widespread across the country. As for now, his family is going to take the necessary precautions and follow the protocols to stay safe.
Another student, described the approved vaccine by the FDA as an amazing accomplishment.
Freshman Sam Goyzman said, “This is a vigorously tested vaccine. The FDA is highly trusted and the science behind it is truly incredible.”
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