It’s finally here! The cure to our problems. A solution that will bring us back to how we lived in 2019. The key to our bright future comes in a small glass vial.

I’m talking about the new ​​​​Pfizer-BioNTech & Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. Since March of 2020, the entire world has been faced with a deadly pandemic that has changed our lives throughout the world. 

Wearing masks and social distancing outside of your home has become the norm throughout the world. However, while we were panicking and quarantining inside of our homes, scientists and doctors have created a vaccine that can save us from this virus. 

After many trials and testing, ​​​​Pfizer with the help of BioNTech created a vaccine for Covid-19. Based on data, this vaccine is proven to be 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 infection. On Dec 11, 2020, the FDA approved the ​​​​Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and on Dec 18 the FDA later approved a vaccine made by Moderna for emergency use to fight off and control Covid-19. 

After Dec 11th, ​​​​doses of the Pfizer vaccine started being distributed in large numbers within hospitals and to doctors. While ​​​​Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are being distributed across the country, some people are hesitant to get vaccinated. With social media playing a big role in today’s world, many false claims about the new ​​​​Pfizer and Moderna’s Covid vaccine are being spread on different platforms, causing people to have doubts about taking the vaccine.

One big concern that many people have talked about is how fast this vaccine was made and tested compared to other vaccines, which usually takes two years or more to make. 

The process was indeed faster and it seemed like things were being rushed. However, this was possible because scientists and doctors had modern scientific resources at their disposal, and unprecedented global cooperation. Since the virus was also actively spreading in society, participants could go out into the world and the efficacy of the vaccines would be easily to tell. The entire process in America was called Operation Warp Speed and the government agreed to pay many companies millions of dollars for research on a new vaccine. Another reason why it was faster was that people in large numbers were volunteering to take trial based vaccines and that gave scientists better and more data. 

In a Michigan Health article written by Kara Gavin, she states, “Scientists and vaccine makers had already been working for years to develop a ‘platform’ approach to making vaccines against new viruses. Think of it like a drill that can accept different sizes of drill bits, or a food processor that can use different kinds of blades. This ‘platform’ uses messenger RNA (mRNA) as the delivery agent to teach the body how to recognize and fight a new virus.” 

As you can see, this was another example of why the vaccine was made faster than expected. This “platform” really came into play during this battle against Covid-19. All these factors contributed to the effectiveness of making a vaccine to protect us from this deadly disease. 

“I believe that these vaccines will help countries control the spread of Covid-19, and yes I trust those people who made the vaccine and were proactive when it came to finding a vaccine. With all the data and information, the scientists have done their best in coming up with these vaccines that can stop covid-19,” said a freshman at The City College of New York. “I am waiting for my turn to take the vaccine so I could go back to living a normal life,” he added.

Will this Covid-19 vaccine cause illness after taking the 2 doses? This is another concern among citizens throughout the world and on social media.

Many people believe that after taking the vaccine they will get ill from it. They claim that many people who previously received the vaccine had serious side effects and became ill. 

Thousands of people around the world are getting vaccinated daily. The FDA has asked these two companies to keep a close eye on those who have taken the vaccine and to collect data. Just like every other vaccine, it can cause temporary side effects once ejected into an arm. 

Once the vaccine is in the body, it starts reacting with your immune system and it starts making it stronger so it’s able to fight off Covid-19. The data has shown that the vaccine does cause reactions, however, they only last for a few hours or days. 

In a WebMD article about the Covid-19 vaccine, the author Nick Tate writes, “Yes. The FDA says common side effects, in Pfizer’s clinical trial involving some 44,000 people, included pain where they got the shot, fatigue, headache, chills, fever, and joint and muscle pain. But these are all described as temporary.”

This is just one of many articles stating how the vaccine causes illness such as headaches, chill, or a fever. There is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to catching illnesses from the vaccine.

A dentist from Columbia University College of Dental Medicine recently took the ​​​​Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine and was able to share his experience during and after taking the vaccine.

He said, “Before giving me the vaccine they made me fill out a form and did a full check-up. After completing those two things I received the vaccine. They told me to be seated for 15-20 minutes to see if I wasn’t feeling dizzy. However, when I came home, I started feeling chills and my arm started feeling sore around the area where they gave me the vaccine. Luckily all these symptoms were gone after 24 hours.” 

As you can see, after taking the vaccine he did catch some chills and did feel soreness on his arm. Thankfully, it all went away just after 24 hours, which is the case for an overwhelming majority of the people who have taken the vaccine.

Yes, these concerns among people are normal, and they might make people doubt the government and the science that says otherwise. However with this deadly Coronavirus becoming deadly each day, we as a community and citizens should believe the science and what they are saying instead of a tweet or an Instagram post. 

So let us all do our part in stopping this virus together. Let’s start trusting and believing in science over the false claims. And let us all be eager to take the vaccine, so we all can go back to living our normal lives.