In December of 2020, the first COVID-19 vaccine was administered to Sandra Lindsay, a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. Lindsay was the first American to receive the vaccine outside of clinical trials. The director of patient services told CNN: “I trust science. What I don’t trust is getting Covid-19, because I don’t know how it will affect me and the people around me.”

Since then, millions of people have received the vaccine in the United States. Currently, West Virginia’s vaccination rate ranks among the highest in the world. West Virginia first made the vaccine available to anyone over the age of 80, all health care workers and educators. The vaccination events have moved rapidly through the tier system set up by the state quickly providing vaccinations to anyone aged 65 or older. The state of West Virginia is now on target to begin vaccinating the general public this month. 

On January 10th, the staff at Greenbrier West Highschool were given their first round of the COVID-19 vaccine. Side effects reported include soreness at the vaccination site, fatigue, a mild fever, and tunnel vision. The side effects of the second shot, given on February the 15th, included stiffness, fatigue, and

headaches, but after a few days, these symptoms subsided. These symptoms are nothing compared to the havoc that COVID-19 wreaks on your body. 

“The vaccine is a no-brainer,” said Greenbrier West Spanish teacher, Antonio Junceda, “The way I see it, if I don’t get the vaccine because it hurts me, the real virus is likely to hurt me even worse, so the only real solution, in that case, is to lock myself up, never get to out again, to prevent contact with the virus, in which case my life is as good as over.”

Speculation as to the safety of the vaccine has resulted in many dangerous misconceptions. False reports from unreliable media outlets say that the COVID-19 vaccine was developed to control the general population through microchip tracking. The Mayo Clinic states that: “There is no vaccine microchip, and the vaccine will not track people or gather personal information into a database. This myth started after comments made by Bill Gates from The Gates Foundation about a digital certificate of vaccine records. The technology he was referencing is not a microchip, has not been implemented in any manner, and is not tied to the development, testing, or distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.” 

Greenbrier County has been lucky enough to have the infrastructure to provide vaccinations to our staff in an organized and timely manner. With perseverance, the vaccine will be readily available to those in our community who want to receive it. In the meantime, we should remain vigilant and follow the guidelines.