As vaccines get distributed throughout the states, requirements have changed and gotten more and more open. With this change, the vaccination process has become more efficient and people are able to get appointments and vaccines quicker than ever.

Before the vaccine was extended past essential workers, a few students had the opportunity to receive the vaccine due to their job. One such student, senior Maddy Jones, was eligible to get her vaccine in one of the first groups. Maddy Jones works at a child care facility and due to her exposure to children, she was able to get her vaccine. 

Although she was eligible, Jones still experienced difficulties scheduling her appointment. The system to schedule vaccines was new and working through some obstacles and the vaccination centers were a little disorganized and inefficient. For Jones, it took a week to schedule her appointment and two hours spent at the convention center for her to finally receive her first dose.

More recently, junior Corinna Thomas, got her first dose after the vaccine was extended to the families of essential workers. Thomas was able to quickly schedule an appointment and get vaccinated in 40 minutes at the convention center as the process increased in efficiency. 

Additionally, many people have experienced harsh side effects from the second dose of the shot. For Jones the second dose yielded a sore arm and high fever lasting a couple days and then suddenly disappearing. For others, the second dose results in anything from a sore arm to intense flu like symptoms lasting a short period after. 

Despite the difficulties Jones endured, she is excited to “make a lot of the parents and fellow staff at my job feel better” and “feel like the whole horrible covid year has come to an end,” thanks to the COVID-19 vaccine. Thomas feels similarly and is most excited with “helping out with the herd immunity so that we can eventually reach the point where we can return to normalcy.” 

Overall these benefits far outway the struggle of finding an appointment and the side effects of the vaccine. Every day the process gets easier to go through due to the hard work of the volunteers and vaccine workers.