SU Students Are Getting Vaxxed Up
graphic by anastasia powell
At the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, many SU students have been made eligible to receive the vaccine by New York State. Under the latest eligibility guidelines, people over the age of 16 (for Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccinations) with underlying health conditions, those who work in public places, and in-person college essential staff are now eligible. At the testing site, one must be able to prove their eligibility through items like doctor’s notes, employee IDs, or printed pay stubs.
The easiest way to sign up for a vaccination appointment is to get started at the Am I Eligible NYS page. Users will have to fill out a questionnaire, and will then be redirected to a page with location options for vaccinations. Once the first dose is given, the vaccination center volunteers will sign you up for the next dose. For the Pfizer vaccine, there is a 3-week waiting period between doses, and for Moderna, it is 4 weeks. The Expo Center at the fairgrounds is a Pfizer vaccination center, which is easily accessible for SU students. We spoke with some SU students who have gotten their first dose of the vaccine to hear about their experiences.
“It was a really easy experience from signing up to actually getting the shot,” said Michelle Yankner, an SU sophomore. She said the only side effect she experienced was a sore arm, and she’s going to continue being cautious about socializing since the vaccine doesn’t provide 100% immunity. “It’s really important to be vaccinated to slow the spread of COVID; it’s key since people don’t want to follow mandates or social distance.”
Sophomore Randy Pierce also reported that the process was very smooth and “the workers did a wonderful job of getting me to where I was supposed to be.” “I’m not scared of needles, although I know some people are, but even if I was, the workers made me feel comfy. I had a stuffy nose for a couple days and felt tired, but I tested negative for COVID twice after the first dose,” explained Pierce.
According to Our World In Data, there have been 121 million doses given in the United States as of March 19, 2021, and 43 million people have been fully vaccinated, which is 13.11% of the population. In New York State, there have been 7.19 million doses given and 12.12% of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated (2.36 million people). President Joe Biden announced that all US citizens of 18 years or older will be eligible to be vaccinated by May 1st. In addition to this announcement, the Biden Administration will be expanding the number of vaccination sites and deployment of troops to help facilitate vaccine efforts.
“I felt very blessed to be one of the first to get the vaccine, I know a lot of family and friends still don’t have access, so I felt grateful for the most part,” said SU Senior Bryan Jardines. “While I’m very aware of COVID variants, I feel safe with the vaccine but that doesn’t mean I won’t be careful. I’m a bit worried about getting the second dose because I’ve heard the side effects are more pronounced.”
Vaccinations aren’t a complete solution to the pandemic, but it makes it safer for others and harder to spread the virus. People with vaccinations (both doses) are able to interact without masks in private settings, as well as with low-risk unvaccinated individuals as per the most recent CDC guidelines. Be patient and wait for eligibility to further open up. When you are eligible to get vaccinated, please do so!