Vaccines on Campus: An Overview

As we continue our lives among COVID-19, the promise of an imminent vaccine still looms on the horizon. No matter who you are -- fearful of such a vaccine or desperate for it -- I'm sure the thought of receiving the COVID-19 vaccination has been on your mind. It's impossible to ignore the presence of this virus in our lives, and with a vaccine being proclaimed as the end of this mess, it's no wonder many of us cannot wait to get in line, roll up our sleeves, and receive our armor. With that said, however, there is another portion of the population who will no doubt show some hesitancy in such a vaccination -- and others who will outright refuse it. 

Because of this, the distribution of any vaccination hinges first and foremost on trust and transparency. Healthcare likely should not be politicized, but due to the structure of our system, it has inevitably become so. Therefore, the solutions to our problems must come from learning from the root of the causes: our governmental failures. 

The current pandemic is a perfect case study on the failures of our governmental and healthcare institutions, a fantastic example of what not to do in order to have citizens comply with regulations and other mandates. In many ways, our institutions have been massively incompetent, and this will undoubtedly affect the rest of our experiences with this pandemic, as well, including the inevitable vaccine to come. We already know that there is a strong correlation between pandemics and conspiracy theories (this link leads to a fantastic piece by the New Yorker on this), with the height of Illuminati conspiracies coming during the Yellow Fever scare. And this is only a natural connection. What better time for individuals to fear the worst than the moments when the world seems to be falling apart, when an unseen contaminant is threatening us at every corner? 

But in the modern day, the word "conspiracy" has become synonymous with "crazy," and thus our medical professionals and the like attacked the theories with anger and oftentimes hatred. These theorists -- who are more often simply afraid  more so than anything else -- were belittled, exacerbating the feeling of being backed into a corner. 

Likewise, the nature of a new virus presented issues with transparency, which in turn deepened the lack of trust that was already growing evident, especially in the United States. As new information bombarded the public, many ideas and findings seemed to contradict previous ones, which combined with the constant misinformation present on the Internet to create a dangerous cocktail of mistrust. As these contradictions occurred, many officials slandered those who refused to change their minds based on previous details, which continued to harshen these realities. 

This is the backdrop of societal issues that we will be introducing a supposedly life-saving vaccine into. I'll be the first to admit that I'm hesitant to receive the vaccine as soon as it hits the public. With a name like Operation Warp Speed, I grow concerned that potentially dangerous side-effects will be overlooked -- or worse, that the trials won't be enough to produce them. I know I will eventually receive the vaccine, but I also feel as if it is a valid concern. As far as the distribution of the vaccination will go on UK's campus, again, transparency and trust will be the major components of fostering a beneficial environment. Our universities should take a note from the failures of our government during the early stages of this pandemic and alter their approach to its later stages.