Photo: Monica McGhee
Terrien Edwards
Staff Writer
The vaccine for COVID-19 has been a highly controversial topic with varying opinions on its effectiveness, availability, and safety. As our world, and more specifically the United States, begins to vaccinate, it is important to understand the implications of this process and what it could potentially mean for our society.
College students have been presented with a unique challenge in the wake of the pandemic: deciding whether or not to get vaccinated.
For many students, the decision to get vaccinated is a complicated one, as they weigh their desire to remain safe against the potential risks of the vaccine.
Different campuses have responded to student vaccination concerns in various ways, from offering incentives for students to get vaccinated to providing educational resources about the vaccine and its potential side effects.
At Jackson State University, in 2020, new protocols and expectations for faculty, staff, and students were implemented, including a modified academic calendar, forms of in-person and remote course delivery, mandatory training for employees and students, daily symptom checks, and COVID-19 testing and tracing.
JSU Campus Reopening Taskforce continues to update the “JSU Safe” plan in alignment with government orders and public health recommendations from the IHL Safe Start Task Force, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Mississippi State Department of Health.”
Some students argue that the vaccine is a necessary step to protect public health, while others note the potential side effects and express skepticism about its long-term safety.
There is no doubt that many students have been affected by the virus and its consequences, with some students losing loved ones and others having to deal with severe health issues.
“It’s painful to watch so many people refuse to get the vaccine because I lost my aunt and uncle to COVID and the doctors said it could have been prevented if they were vaccinated,” said Destiny Moore, a sophomore elementary education major from Chicago, Ill.
However, other students at Jackson State believe the vaccine should be a choice.
Mikayla Stokes, a freshman biology/pre-med major from Chicago, Ill., is one of those students.
“The vaccine isn’t something that should be mandatory. I never got vaccinated and I’m fine,” said Stokes.
Haley Dawson, a freshman business major from Houston, Texas strongly believes everyone should get vaccinated.
“My mom is a traveling nurse so I’ve always been around the medical world and I’ve seen what COVID has done to a lot of people,” said Dawson.
A recent survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed that only 51 percent of African-Americans believed it was safe to take the COVID-19 vaccine, compared to 72 percent of White Americans.
John Watts, Ph.D., a JSU chemistry professor, believes that it’s everyone’s choice to make but it is wise to protect yourself.
“I don’t have much of an opinion on the matter but with the amount of students I see getting COVID, you would think they would want to get the vaccine to prevent themselves from spreading COVID to other students and professors, but they don’t,” said Watts.
Visit https://www.jsums.edu/jsusafe/ for more information on JSU’s protocol for COVID.
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