Students Hope COVID Vaccine will bring a ‘Return to Normal’

A number of Dunbar students have gotten their vaccine and let us know how they feel about it.

With the rapid surge of vaccines being administered, many are hopeful that the restrictions of the pandemic will soon come to an end.

There are currently three active vaccines being given out in the United States: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. Although recently, the Food and Drug Administration called for a pause of the J & J vaccine due to a small number of people experiencing blood clots.

There has been a publicized divide in the U.S. between those getting the vaccine and those not. The pause of J & J has led some to be more skeptical of the vaccine. After hearing the news about the J & J vaccine situation students were still optimistic about vaccination for more students.

“Even though there has been a lot of rumors about the vaccine and its side effects, I still think it’s pretty safe because in lots of cases where people have side effects it’s only about 6 people out of 5000,” junior Alexander Martinez said.

Most Dunbar students seem to still be ok with getting their shot and are getting them at a variety of different locations that Lexington has been offering them such as the Kentucky Horse Park, UK, and at Dunbar on April 27, which was also available at five other FCPS schools.

A lot of people have been getting vaccinated though a large number of students either have had their shot or have family members who have. Some have even experienced Covid and said they don’t want to risk contracting it again.

“I was pretty comfortable with getting it because I did have [COVID], and I do know that I do not want that again,” junior Hannah Long said.

Some students at Dunbar said that they aren’t getting the vaccine because they don’t want to, but because they can’t.

Those under the age of 16 can not legally be given the shot which means any freshman and some sophomores don’t have the chance, although a vaccination approval for ages 12-15 is pending.

“I’m not really sure what that’s looking like right now but I hope they can figure it out soon,” Long said. “I hope more of the population will be vaccinated and we can begin to go back to normal.”

Many teens feel that the COVID-19 pandemic placed their teen years on hold.

“It is important just to get everyone vaccinated so we can help get out of this situation,” sophomore Cole Colony said.