As COVID-19 spreads and mutates into the delta variant, people quickly want life to turn back to normal, but are hesitant to take any of the three varying vaccines at all, for at first glance, it may bring some skepticism.

However, those eligible should take the vaccine and become fully vaccinated.

As many people know, the Coronavirus is, well, a virus. And though it is not necessarily an organism by any means, it does have a goal: to live and thrive for as long as possible. Some viruses, according to NCBI, states that “co infecting viruses exchange genetic information to create a novel virus”. This is what created the Delta variant– the virus mutated to extend its life span and more or less “better” itself to infect those who have grown to have antibodies against it, whether they gained those antibodies from having COVID-19 once before or getting vaccinated. NCBI states that these vaccines work by allowing an immunogen, or a “dead” version of the virus to enter the body’s system, antibodies will be stimulated, and the body will protect it from the immunogen and the virus itself. However, the Coronavirus vaccination works slightly different. According to Medical News Today, the strand of COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, has spikes on its ends, which is what latches onto cells and infects them. The vaccine instructs the body how to defend against the spiked virus and creates a protein that eliminates the spikes on the virus and then the body of it altogether.

Most people have heard the comparisons between COVID-19 and the flu, even when it comes to the speed in which the vaccination for each was produced. People are skeptical about taking the COVID-19 vaccine because it was produced much faster in comparison to other vaccines, such as the influenza vaccination. Thankfully, the CDC provides a timeline of the influenza vaccination production, showing that the first influenza outbreak started in the 1930s. Over time they tried to create a vaccine, but without the modern technology we have today, it took them much longer, as it took them time to even discover that influenza was caused by a virus instead of a bacteria. Influenza mutated so fast that by the time they created their first vaccine in 1947, it was ineffective against the new strain. While they went back to the drawing board, another strand mutated and was discovered in 1957. Researchers continually released vaccines, but one after the other were found to be ineffective in regards to mortality rates and clinical differences. Even in the 90’s new strands of the flu were being mutated, so saying that this vaccine didn’t take as long to make as other vaccines for viruses like the flu may be correct, it won’t be illustrating the entire reason as to why. One could say that the COVID-19 vaccine was created so quickly in preparation for it mutating as fast as the flu.

This means that because it is building itself to infect those that already have antibodies, those who have not yet developed them can be affected worse if they do catch the virus, similarly stated by the CDC. For example, say that two football teams were preparing for the upcoming season. Team A has prepared themselves physically by practicing and scrimmaging against teams that challenge them, while team B has practiced much less in comparison to team A, and only scrimmage against teams that they know they will win against. By the end of the season, team A has more wins and better stats in comparison to team B, who didn’t prepare themselves enough. If one does not prepare themselves for the possibility of getting COVID-19 by getting the vaccine, they will have more negative side-effects.

Though some may say that the COVID vaccine may cause negative long term effects, in actuality it is very rare that people are hospitalized or put in danger of the virus. The CDC states that “serious side effects that could cause a long-term health problem are extremely unlikely following any vaccination, including COVID-19 vaccination.” And the FDA is required to study each COVID-19 vaccine after the final dose was released for two months, and if any concerning issues are found, they must research and find a solution to the problem.

<a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/pandemic-timeline-1930-and-beyond.htm”>https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/pandemic-timeline-1930-and-beyond.htm</a>

<a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/covid-19-vaccinations-work-with-or-without-side-effects#The-vaccines-did-their-job”>https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/covid-19-vaccinations-work-with-or-without-side-effects#The-vaccines-did-their-job</a>

<a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness/why-measure-effectiveness/breakthrough-cases.html#:~:text=Most%20people%20who%20get%20COVID,%E2%80%9Cbreakthrough%20infection.%E2%80%9D”>https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness/why-measure-effectiveness/breakthrough-cases.html#:~:text=Most%20people%20who%20get%20COVID,%E2%80%9Cbreakthrough%20infection.%E2%80%9D</a>

<a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8439/”>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8439/</a>

<a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/intranasal-covid-19-vaccine-effective-animal-studies”>https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/intranasal-covid-19-vaccine-effective-animal-studie</a>