While 2020, sadly, is the year of COVID-19, the good news is 2021 should be the year of the coronavirus vaccine. While we’re at it, let’s make it the year for childhood immunizations too.
The COVID-19 vaccine is being rolled out for certain health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities. Immunizing health care workers does double duty: They need to be protected from the infection risk while caring for those sick with COVID-19. They also can help model for the rest of us that the vaccine is safe and necessary. Life won’t return to a semblance of normal until the majority of Americans are immunized. For those in the general public, expect to get your shot as soon as spring.
Each version of the COVID-19 vaccine is tested on thousands of people to rule out dangers before receiving Food and Drug Administration approval. There is a remote chance of an allergic reaction, usually soon after getting the inoculation, according to the FDA, but it should be treatable and is no reason to skip the shot. “I feel extreme confidence in the safety and the efficacy of this vaccine,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, said before he received his first round of the vaccine. You trust Dr. Fauci, right?
Minor side effects, such as soreness, fatigue and headache, are more common, as with other vaccines, but that’s also no reason to avoid a potentially lifesaving jab. “Those are not serious and in fact they are welcome,” Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s public health commissioner, explained Tuesday before receiving her shot. “They are signs the immune system is responding and learning how to fight COVID,” she said. “They may be unpleasant for a day or two, but they are the signs of true protection ready to take hold.”
DON’T SKIP OTHER VACCINES