There has been a rush to get a COVID-19 vaccination so that people are able to return to their normal lives, but many are ready to doubt how safe the vaccine is because of how quickly it has been developed.
Requiring students to get this vaccination before returning to campus isn’t nearly as simple as it may seem.
On May 15, President Donald Trump announced that COVID-19 vaccinations could be publicly available as early as Nov. 1.
Trump refers to this vaccination being produced and distributed as Operation Warp Speed, causing people to feel nervous about how much time was actually put into developing something that has the potential to make our situation even worse.
Health experts throughout the country are concerned because of how fast this vaccine has been produced and how little time they’ve had to test it, according to an article published by Insight Into Diversity.
It is expected that many people are going to be wary of getting vaccinated mostly because of their distrust in government officials and health experts encouraging them to be cautious.
According to a survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Centers for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC) in May, 35% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 said that they would not get the COVID-19 vaccination.
While the vast majority of people are willing to get the vaccine to protect themselves and their loved ones, there are still going to be some that are worried or may not be able to afford it.
Many college students already struggle to pay their tuition and keep themselves afloat. It is still in question whether the vaccine will be free for everyone or not.
Pharmaceutical companies developing vaccines have spent millions in the last few months on testing.
In an article published by healthline, these companies plan on recovering at least some of their development costs.
Americans with appropriate health insurance coverage will most likely not have to pay any additional cost to get a vaccine, but without appropriate coverage, many college students will most likely have to pay.
Expecting students who are either nervous about getting the vaccine or could not possibly afford it to vaccinate themselves before returning to campus is not reasonable.
It is a tough time right now for college students everywhere and requiring that they do something that they are not comfortable with not only makes their lives harder, and putting the responsibility in the hands of administration to make sure every student is vaccinated makes returning to campus even more complicated.
