Why I Will Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine: It's Not About Me

When I am offered the COVID-19 vaccine, I will take it. I myself am not at high risk for COVID-19. I am young and healthy. I wear my mask. I wash my hands. And if I were to catch the virus, the chance of it being any worse than the flu is low. But I am not receiving this shot for myself.

Mass vaccination efforts, like the one we are living through right now, work on the concept of herd immunity. Herd immunity happens when people who are immune to a disease prevent those who are not from catching it. If the majority of a society is immune to a disease, then those who are not immune have a much lower chance of contracting the disease because they are less likely to be exposed to it. Vaccines create immunity by introducing harmless elements of a particular germ into the body. Some people are unable to receive vaccines due to being immunocompromised or being allergic to a component of the shot. Because these individuals are unable to become immunized, it is crucial that as many other people as possible receive vaccines to reduce the risk of spread. It is this phenomenon that allowed humanity to eradicate smallpox. If we can stop the spread of COVID-19, it will be because we reached herd immunity.

Many people are concerned that COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe because they were released in a fraction of the time that other vaccines are released. This seems disconcerting, but the new vaccines were subjected to the same level of testing and review that every other vaccine is. The researchers developing the COVID-19 vaccines received major amounts of funding that allowed them to develop vaccines without waiting for grant approval. They were also able to perform several rounds of testing at once. The COVID-19 vaccine is not new science. The technology used in it is new to the general public, but not to the immunologists who study it. This shot was built by some of humanity’s best scientists on a foundation of research stretching back almost two centuries. 

Is it possible that there are risks to this vaccine that we haven't discovered yet? Absolutely. But risks are a side effect of life. None of the reasons I have listed are the most important factor in my choice to receive the vaccine. Twenty years from now, when my children ask me what I did to help during the pandemic, I want to be able to tell them that I tried my best to protect others, even when it was inconvenient. And if it turns out that our science was mistaken, that the vaccine is more dangerous than we expect or that it doesn't work like we hope, I will not regret trying to do a good and selfless thing.

Annika Cambigue is a sophomore

English major from

Dayton, Ohio.