With the spread of COVID-19, scientists have been working hard to get a vaccine. Although there are many vaccines under development in the United States, there is not yet an authorized or approved vaccine to prevent COVID-19. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the goal is to deliver a safe and effective vaccine by the end of this year. 

When asking Freedom Area High School students if they would receive the vaccine, the answers were very close. 40.7% said that they would not be receiving the possible COVID-19 vaccine, 27.1% said they would and 32.2% are not sure. 

The responses for yes were very clear. 96.9% of those who plan on getting the vaccine, believe it will help things return to normal as soon as possible. Only 3.1% say they will because a parent or guardian plans to be vaccinated and they will do as they are told. 

There were many different reasons for those who would not get the vaccine. 64.6% say they do not feel comfortable getting a vaccine that is so new and 8.3% say they do not believe in vaccines. There were also 13 reasons that students came up with themselves that took up 27.1%.

The most popular of the “other” responses said they did not trust the government, or they just simply did not want it. There, for sure, was a wider variety of answers that were against the vaccine, than were for it. 

Again, there were many different responses from those who were not sure about getting the vaccine. 63.2% said they are not sure that they feel comfortable getting a vaccine that is so new, 15.8% have seen others recover from COVID-19 and are not sure that the vaccine is necessary and 21% came up with their own responses. The most popular of the “other” responses were that they have not discussed the topic with their parents, or they are just unsure of how the vaccine will affect them in the future. 

With the possibility of a COVID-19 vaccine becoming available by the end of 2020, here are some things you should know about the vaccine: There may be a limited supply of vaccinations before the end of this year, but supply will continuously increase. Because there will be a limited supply, some may be recommended to receive it before other people. Also, at first, the COVID-19 vaccine may not be recommended for children. It is important that the more vulnerable receive the vaccine first, so holding off for children would be a good decision. This information may be changing, so for updated information, the CDC’s website is always updated when anything changes.