As the first round of COVID-19 vaccines begins to be given to front-line workers and the elderly, it is likely that it will be widespread by this summer. In our LHS community, Senior Gillian Schwanitz has already received the first of her two vaccines.
Schwanitz is a Certified Nursing Assistant at Orchard Park Healthcare Center and got her vaccine on Dec 29, 2020, and her second one is scheduled for January 18, 2021. She received Pfizer vaccine, which has been tested on teenagers as young as 16.
“We did it in the cafeteria at where I work and we had to fill out these forms, and after that, there were nurses at each table and you got a card you had to sign, you went to the table, they did it, and you had to sit around for about 15 minutes to make sure you didn’t have any negative reaction to it. That was it. So easy… It hurt less than a flu shot,” Schwanitz recalls about the vaccine experience.
Working at a healthcare facility has led Schwanitz to be one of the first people at Littleton High School to receive a vaccine, even before teachers.
“It feels weird {to be a young person receiving a vaccine} because it feels like the old people who are high risk should be getting it first, but I think that I was given the opportunity so I did it. I was glad I did it and I think it will be good for my job. I’m glad that more elderly people are starting to get it now in the second phase of the vaccinations,” Schwanitz said.
Schwanitz is very passionate about encouraging everyone who is able to acquire the vaccine to get it. A lot of people are afraid of the vaccine, whether it be the fear of a government chip or the underlying mistaken perception of vaccinations in general.
“I think everyone’s trying to make it more of a big deal than it is. I wholeheartedly trust the doctors who made it. Millions of people have been tested and there have been no deaths from it. In the meantime, there are millions of deaths from the coronavirus. It seems like a no brainer to get the vaccine. Most people have no side effects, and there’s no reason not to get it,” Schwanitz said.
“It’s been tested on so many people and the doctors who made it are so reliable. Even though it went through fast, it went through all the necessary tests that it had to do. It’s perfectly safe, and they’re taking all the precautions they need to be taking,” Schwanitz said.
Meanwhile, a new strain in the coronavirus was found in the UK, and even in a patient in Colorado. Schwanitz isn’t too worried and trusts the vaccine to continue to protect against the virus.
“I think it’s a little ridiculous. The virus has the same proteins on it, so the vaccine still gives antibodies which are the same for both strains of the virus. We don’t really know much about the other strains and its mortality rate, but we do know the proteins are the same and if you get the vaccine you be immune for both,” Schwanitz said.
As teachers, essential workers, and eventually students have the opportunity to receive the vaccine, Schwanitz shows that she trusts that it works, and knows that it is helping stop the spread.