The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual reporter and do not reflect the views of The Sage, Sage Creek High School, or Carlsbad School District.

COVID-19 has affected everyone’s lives: some people have lost their jobs and some their families. 

Fortunately, last year researchers and scientists developed a vaccine to help fight off COVID-19 and make the world return to normal again. Vaccines are the start to getting rid of COVID-19 for good. 

COVID-19 comes from respiratory syndrome SARS-CoV-2 and was discovered in 2019. It is believed to originate in Wuhan, China, and ended up spreading to the rest of the world, creating the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Everything was shut down for a whole year, including school. We took part in distance learning and many people struggled. Luckily, vaccines came out for ages 16 and up on December 11, 2020. The COVID-19 vaccine contains part of the virus’ ribonucleic acid (RNA), which is harmless, and is injected into the body so our immune system can recognize the virus and make antibodies to help fight it off.

Common side effects of the vaccine include fever, headache and tiredness. These are completely normal reactions and are signs that your body is building immunity. 

These vaccines have been around for quite some time and 191 million people have been fully vaccinated, which is a good thing. Now the vaccine is being mandated. 

On October 1, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a mandate to have kids ages 5 to 11 be vaccinated to attend school. The mandate will take effect when all age groups have full approval for the vaccine. 

People all over California are protesting against this, but I believe mandatory vaccines should be enforced. 

Many protestors believe vaccines aren’t safe. The Center of Disease Control (CDC) confirms that the vaccine is safe and has many benefits. In-depth testing and monitoring have shown that the vaccine is safe and effective. 

One study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found the Moderna vaccine to be 96.3% effective in preventing symptomatic illness and the Pfizer vaccine to be 95% effective. They tested the vaccines in 3 clinical trial stages and more than 10,000 people volunteered in testing. These people range from a multitude of different ages, races and ethnicities. 

 Phase 1 is the first test and evaluation. 10 to 100 healthy volunteers received different doses of the vaccine. Blood is also drawn to assess their response to the vaccine, mainly the rise in antibodies and whether they are similar to those who have had the disease. 

Phase 2 tested hundreds of healthy people who were of different ages and races as well as had different health statuses that might affect the vaccine’s effectiveness. This shows us a better indication of the vaccine being safe and effective. 

Phase 3 trials provided a better demonstration that the vaccine works and is safe. Half of the volunteers received a placebo (a fake vaccine) and half received the real one. If fewer who received the vaccine become sick compared to the placebo, we have evidence that the vaccine prevents the disease. 

After these trials, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine as safe, effective, and up to high standards. The FDA approving the vaccine shows the vaccine is okay for the public to use. 

 “… the public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product,” Acting FDA Commissioner, Janet Woodcock, said.

Peter Marks, the director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at the Food and Drug Administration, explained why the vaccine is safe and effective. 

“Our scientific and medical experts conducted an incredibly thorough and thoughtful evaluation of this vaccine,” Peter Marks said. “We evaluated scientific data and information included in hundreds of thousands of pages, conducted our own analyses of Comirnaty’s [the Pfizer vaccines] safety and effectiveness, and performed a detailed assessment of the manufacturing processes, including inspections of the manufacturing facilities.” 

People have been organizing protest walks and parents have been keeping their kids home from school in protest of vaccines.

At least 200 people, including parents and school-age kids, gathered at Huntington Beach on October 18, 2021. Many carried signs against the vaccine mandate and California’s Governor himself, as many parents already did not like their children wearing masks indoors at school. 

Although there are widespread protests across the state, the vaccine mandate is ultimately for the better of the state.

Students encounter a variety of people at school, therefore, vaccines are needed to keep them safe. There is a lower death case count because of the vaccines. This has helped hospitals very much, making them less crowded since 39% of hospitals were under high or extreme stress, overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients during the lockdown. Since people are vaccinated and their immunity is stronger, they are permitted to go to events again. 

People are essentially better protected from the virus that took over the world for a year. The vaccines are our chance for COVID-19 to be stopped, so get vaccinated to help end the COVID-19 pandemic.