Get Vaccinated!
If you have checked your Snapchat or Instagram stories lately, I would not be surprised if there was a flood of vaccine card selfies. As of April 6th, everyone 16 and older is eligible for the highly anticipated COVID-19 vaccine in New York State, which brings hope for a sense of normalcy to return.
Since the vaccine rollout began earlier this year, I have been counting down the days until I could receive my shot. Like many other grandchildren, in January I would stay up until midnight to race against thousands of other people to refresh my browser and claim one of the few time slots available so my grandparents could get the vaccine. After weeks of bad luck, I was finally able to click fast enough and thankfully they are fully vaccinated now. Albeit, speculating about the different “variants” has become the new topic of conversation for them.
Next up were those with pre-existing conditions, meaning those with asthma were happily advertising their inhalers. Whereas people are normally uncomfortable advertising their personal health conditions, it felt as though everyone was more than willing to share their diabetes, past surgeries, or even their cigarette use.
As eligibility continues to widen, members of the Cornell community have been seen carpooling to Syracuse, Binghamton, and more recently Corning (where even is that?).
I was fortunate enough to get the one and done shot, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in Syracuse. Yes, I have been bragging about only needing one dose, although there does seem to be a superiority complex of those getting Pfizer or Moderna. Nonetheless, there have been plenty of TikToks about flashbacks to concerts or memories of parties flooding your head as the needle enters your arm, but for me, it was anticlimactic. I spent the 15-minute wait period reading through the pamphlet that mentioned all of the possible side effects and, sure enough, I woke up the next day with all of them. For me, this 24-hour illness was worth it in the grand scheme of things, but the process isn’t as glamorous as just snapping your fingers, getting a shot, and everything going back to normal.
It is definitely relieving to know that I cannot be contact-traced now that it has been 2 weeks, or that when I go home I don’t have to worry about potentially getting my parents sick. It seems I am not alone in this mindset since when I am walking around campus, I can hear people trying to do the math to figure out when they are considered fully vaccinated or instructing their parents on the phone to start planning trips for this summer.
As I am writing this article, I received an email to schedule my surveillance test for the day, a daily reminder that even though I am vaccinated, the pandemic isn’t over yet. Although I long for a normal rest of the semester, including my first real Slope Day, it appears as though that may have to wait until next year.
In the meantime, go get vaccinated! Sign up through this link! https://am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/
