Probably.  –Ronnie Nolan ‘22

The Covid-19 vaccine is something many people have been waiting for since this quarantine started. I would definitely want to take it, but I have no idea about anything in it. I don’t know the side effects or anything like that, but assuming they aren’t too bad I would take it. As far as my parents opinion on it, I’m really not sure. We haven’t talked about it at all, so I don’t know for sure what they think about it. However, they have never not wanted me to get a vaccine in the past, so I highly doubt that this will be any exception. Also my mom works at two different hospitals, Mass General and New England Baptist. So if anything I think she’ll be ecstatic to take the vaccine. She isn’t a nurse or anything but still being at the hospital during this pandemic is dangerous. As for whether or not I think it should be mandatory in order for students to return to school, I’m not fully sure. I’m leaning more towards the side of yes, it should be mandatory, but it’s definitely thought inducing. Everyone should have it to go back to school, so that everyone is being as safe as possible for their loved ones, but forcing someone to take a vaccine is still questionable. I just hope that this pandemic ends quickly. 

No.  –Surafel Tesfaye ‘22

While covid-19 is still a very big threat and still is a hot topic amongst the people, something that most people are starting to fear (along with myself) is the situation with the vaccines that have just been created. I understand why some of you would call the people’s fears ungrounded and unnecessary, but in my point of view and in the view of the public, we don’t truly know the effects of the virus for starters, also some people are nervous about what are inside the vaccine like trackers and other stuff that people can’t prove to be in the vaccine but have not proved to not be in the vaccine either. People also are concerned about if taking the vaccine is mandatory or not, because people don’t, by nature, like being forced to do anything, but once you add the fears as well then you are just giving the people a reason to not want it even more, especially if you never got the virus because then you won’t see the need for you to take it saying “it hasn’t affected me yet so why worry about it”. At the end of the day we don’t know what the vaccine will do yet but this is a fear that we all must overcome. 

Yes. –Elma Mekic ‘22

The U.S. approved the first COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. Slowly they are going to make it available for all of us. I think that is great, we all need to be back to our pre covid, normal lives. Will I and my family get that vaccine? When it is going to be required, yes. My parents and I are not crazy about vaccines, we just get vaccines that are required, same it is going to be with Covid vaccine. I am tired of wearing masks and social distancing, it helps reduce our chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others, but these measures are not enough. Vaccines will work with our immune system so it will be ready to fight the virus if we are exposed. I believe in medicine and science, and I am sure the USA would not approve something that is not 100% safe for people. In the United States, all new vaccines must be approved by the FDA, this means it can be distributed or made available throughout the country. We all need that vaccine and I don’t understand why some people oppose it. Millions and millions of people have died from this virus. We can make COVID-19 less contagious and lethal, changing the character of the pandemic. The only way to make all people get the vaccine is to make it mandatory. 

Not yet. –Sarah Dumeng ‘22

Personally, I only would take the vaccine if I saw the outcome of most cases. I would not take the vaccine if my parents wouldn’t take it , although I do have family members who are deciding not to take the vaccine. they feel as though they would take the chance to get Covid and deal with all the symptoms for Covid instead of the symptoms caused with the vaccine such as swelling, fever, headache etc. I wouldn’t mind taking the vaccine if it’s a requirement for school in the upcoming semester , me thinking about the positive side of things and being grateful for a vaccine being made and brought to the United States. Usually vaccines take up to almost 10-15 years involving a combination of public and private involvement. Many people don’t want to risk getting the vaccine due to 3/4 volunteers getting Bell’s Palsy as a side effect to being vaccinated with the Pfizer Covid experimental vaccine. In my opinion if more cases like these come up or arise as more people get the vaccine more than half of the United States won’t want to take the vaccine and neither will their kids. All the negative feedback about the vaccine can be life changing for some people who were going to consider taking the vaccine. Bell’s palsy is a weakness on one half of the face and is a big life change for people who receive this condition. 

Not until it is proven. –Jeffrey Delgado ‘22

As someone that works in a grocery store, I am able to get it earlier than the general public. I think that it is my decision whether I get it or not. I would like to but, I also heard that it may come with risks of HIV and I much rather get COVID than HIV. Once it is proven that the vaccine is successful and does not come with certain consequences, then yeah! Students should be vaccinated so they may go to school, as well as the teachers and staff. 

No.  –Marc-Olivier Bazile ‘22

In full honesty has long had the vaccine is not outdated and is not tested for personages that are in my assemblage of age no I will not take that stuff at complete fairness simply just because it is very serious and I don’t want to rush myself into the science mainly since covid was created by savant they were experimenting it for that to be an antidote for a sickest. And that is another reason why I agree with my parents on that point, I don’t approve of this and she doesn’t want me to take it. She even told me that if it was even mandatory I would drop out of school even with no doubt. This prigs me to another question if I would like to come to school could the vaccine transpire compulsory my answer to that is a real big No. Plus I do not see why I should be going to school even though it is so annoying and I get bored over there, I definitely prefer online school. I don’t get too distracted, the class is more understandable, furthermore, there are never fights and the students can relax at the comfort of their home. There is so much more advantage in that. 

Not yet. –Nelson Mira Vela ‘22

The vaccine that the doctors have developed is maybe not something that I will take in the first months just because it has not really been tested and I will wait until probably it has been tested enough. The wait is not something so important because we have been inside our houses almost a year now so I can wait another year if necessary.  There are a lot of people that say they will not take it because is something that has to do with a GPS locator that they put in the vaccine or something, to me this kind of theory is somewhat nonsense just because of the fact that they already can do this with the phones that we have on our pockets, but yeah I will probably just wait until is secure because if for example we will give this vaccine to a elder that may have a weak body, who are the family members going to complain to, the government? Because it was their fault not to test it before something like that occurs, so in my opinion most of the people in the world probably think this way because they want their family to be safe. If it is something that the schools make you take then there is going to be a lot of complaints from parents because what if it causes something in their child so maybe we will be in zoom meetings for maybe a while still. 

I don’t know.  –Roberto Tejada

Honestly I have no clue as of yet, I haven’t had the chance to get covid-19 so I believe it’s the right choice to ignore it for now until they’re better results coming from the vaccine. I know nothing about the vaccine at this point of time so giving the Covid-19 Vaccine a chance right now would be pointless and unnecessary for me. But if I were to have Covid-19 then I will most definitely give the Vaccine at chance, because when all is lost what else is there to rely on? When you are at the point, to rely on your last hope, because I can’t trust my own body that it will survive the Virus. I have my mother to take care of and if I go down obtaining covid, so will she so I am doing my best to not let that happen, but if all is lost and I do get Covid, then Yes I will give the vaccine a chance. 

No. –Caitlin Welsh

I won’t take the covid vaccine when its made available because it hasn’t been around long enough to be fully tested and proven to not have any bad side affects my mother also will not let me get it because she does not trust it because it is so new and she feels that it was not tested enough before it started being administered I don’t think it should be mandatory because a lot of parents don’t trust it so if students are unable to get it due to their parents beliefs about it it’s not fair that they can’t go back to school due to something they can’t control.

I don’t know. –Anna White ‘22

When the COVID vaccine is made available to me I don’t know if I will take it. I want to trust the science, research, and work many medical professionals and the Presidents team have done for this vaccine. But, I have to see how it is treating people my age. What I mean by that is the side effects in the long term. For example, respiratory issues or if they’re finding out that people who received the vaccine now have an increased cancer risk. That’s a complete stretch and worst-case scenario thinking, but why rule it out? I read that Pfizer is only 90% effective while the Modena vaccine is 95% effective. Will those numbers change? I just feel like there is still some uncertainty, but by next year I’m sure that will all be cleaned up, hopefully.  As for my parents, my dad has to get it. I’m not sure which vaccine, but all first responders have to get it. My mom is still looking into it and doing her research. I think making it mandatory for all students to take the vaccine in order to return to school could cause problems. Some will argue it will go against their beliefs or just argue they don’t trust it. However, it’s now mandatory to get the flu shot in order to return to school , so if it is treated like a flu shot, I see no issue making it mandatory. I can also see how one unvaccinated student going to school will thousands of others will put everyone at risk.

Yes.  –Shawn Cohen

As soon as it’s available to be taken, I’ll take it. I know my parents wouldn’t have an issue with that, but even if they did, I would still want to get it. In the same sense, I think it should be mandatory for anyone not doing remote work. Beyond that, it should really just be mandatory for everyone, at least long-term. The effectiveness of the vaccine is entirely based on herd-immunity, so it’d be important that at least the majority of people get the vaccine for a setting like a school. I do understand there’s some reservations some people might have, and I do think it should go through the standard, more thorough approval procedure before it’s any sort of requirement, but it’s still a very important vaccine nonetheless in which I think we’re gonna see a lot of controversy, a lot of conspiracies, and a lot of baseless claims halting the progress of society’s actual recovery, at least in the US. It presents an interesting future, though. Although I don’t see myself ever stepping foot in the school building again, it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out in the future. Will kids who don’t get vaccines have to wear masks? How strongly will that be enforced? I don’t know how much this would apply in Everett, but in other places I’m sure many kids who don’t want the vaccine also don’t believe in the usefulness of a mask. It’s all very new, and all very dystopian, so it’ll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Yes. –Emily Huynh ‘22

The COVID vaccine has been something we have all been waiting or yearning for to finally put an end to this pandemic. Two different vaccines have been created, one by the company Moderna and one by Pfizer. They have different effects and effectiveness against the virus. When the COVID vaccine becomes available to me early next year, I think I will take it. The benefit of taking the vaccine is that it is an important step towards stopping the virus from spreading further. Wearing masks and social distancing, help reduce the chance of being exposed or spreading the virus to others, however, these safety measures are not enough to prevent it from spreading. Stated by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention or the CDC, “The combination of getting vaccinated and following CDC’s recommendations to protect yourself and others will offer the best protection from COVID-19.” Each vaccine has its own side effects. Pfizer’s vaccine is made safe for people 16 years of age and older, while Moderna’s vaccine is made safe for people 18 and older to take although they have begun testing on 12 to 17 year olds according to Stat News. Each vaccine has to be taken after multiple doses to have their full effectiveness, with Pfizer at 95 percent effective and Moderna at 94.1 percent effective. I do not think my mother will be taking the vaccine, it is not because she is against vaccination but I don’t think she wants to be taking anything until she sees no bad side effects. It should be mandatory for students to take in order to return to school because it is the best protection from the virus.

Yes.  –Erminia Palma ‘22

When the vaccine is available to us at the beginning of this school year, I think that  yes,  we should take it and that school should be able to make it a condition for students to return to school so that that way students would be able to return to school safe and healthy. I think that the vaccine gives us hope that one day soon enough life will return to normal and that we can all have a break for all the pain, suffering, worries, and for some lack of money that the pandemic has let us.  I think that this situation would help us understand and comprehend and also  to value family, friends and most importantly union with all. In addition to the understanding that we value life and life everyday at full sense we never know what can happen the next day, month, year on in 5 years.  I honestly and with all my heart hope that this vaccine would give us peace and all of this will get to an end.  What else can I say about the pandemic and the new vaccine? Well my dad’s friend is on the border of death because of covid and that if the vaccine would get her a few months early then maybe he would not be at the edge of death or that we have not lost my aunt  to it. that is what I have to said about it

No. –Aisha Sainristil ‘22

Personally I don’t want to take the covid vaccine because there is a lot of information being left out about it. As someone who has people in both the medical and science fields there’s things being left out about this vaccine. Also as a person of color, this world hasn’t been the best or done it’s best to help my community during this pandemic so in simpler form, they couldn’t care less if we died. So honestly I don’t want to take the vaccine. My parents wouldn’t force me to take it either. And it shouldn’t be mandatory to take it because you have the right to your body. You shouldn’t be forced into doing something you don’t want to. I believe all schools should go hybrid  and make it optional for students who either want to return or remain online. Due to the severity of the pandemic, I have felt the absolute safest in my house, so I don’t want to go back to the building. Maybe I’ll get more courage when the death rate drops.