On December 11, 2020, The FDA granted emergency use authorization to Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine in order to combat the spread of the coronavirus vaccine.

Currently the two vaccines that are being used to prevent COVID-19 are the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. Distribution for the vaccine has been divided into different tiers that decide what groups of people will get the vaccines sooner than others. Tier 1A and tier 1B are currently underway.

The group of people on tier 1A are healthcare workers or residents at nursing facilities. Those in tier 1B are those 65 years old and older, and workers in education, childcare, and food. Tier 1C will start around spring and the group of people in that tier will be based on age. And according to an article from abc7news.com titled “California COVID-19 vaccine tracker: How the state is doing, when you can get a coronavirus vaccine” details on Tier 2 are still being determined but the vaccine will be given out during the summer or fall for that group.

Considering all that has happened over the past year I believe that this is a safe step into getting rid of the Coronavirus and preventing it from spreading even more.

A common myth on the The COVID-19 vaccine is that it is not safe because of how it was rapidly developed and tested.

According to the Mayo Clinic, “To receive emergency use authorization, the biopharmaceutical manufacturer must have followed at least half of the study participants for at least two months after completing the vaccination series, and the vaccine must be proven safe and effective in that population.”

Because of the false information often spread on social media people are weary about the safety of the vaccine. Most concerns come from being afraid of the side effects which is understandable, and although some of the side effects seem small there are things like allergic reactions which have been severe for some people. The other side effects include headaches, chills, fatigue or muscle pain or fever lasting for a day or two.

People also worry about what the vaccine will do to something deeper than their immune systems. Since Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccines are messenger RNA vaccines others have made a connection with the myth. But as the CDC has said, injecting mRNA into your system will not do anything to the DNA of your cells. Once the messenger RNA has done its job the cells break down and get rid of the mRNA.

I believe that at least those who for sure know that they will not have a severe reaction to the vaccine should consider getting it. Of course to be wary of the vaccine is justifiable, but in the end like any medicine it has it’s side effects and it could slow down the spread of the virus and help fight other things that came with the pandemic. Because of the pandemic there have been economic crises, a decline in mental health, homelessness, and this gives people other reasons to be scared for matters other than a virus which should be our main concern right now.

Some have gone as far as to say that the vaccines contain microchips that the government will use to track people or that it contains toxins. But the CDC has already released two fact sheets on their website that list the ingredients to both vaccines.

A CNBC article quoted Tayler Oakes, a 27-year-old travel nurse from Tennessee, who states, “I think the hardest emotional thing, and the biggest moral burden for me this year has just been the general indifference toward other people’s well-being and the unwillingness to do the things necessary to slow the spread.”

More than four hundred thousand people in the U.S. have died from the Coronavirus disease and despite that, skeptics will refuse to take the vaccine even if it can prevent other people from becoming sick. Although it might not be an immediate stop to COVID-19 the vaccine could greatly help those who have suffered from the virus and who have suffered from the quarantine economically.