Imagine speaking to a close relative of yours and suddenly noticing they are unable to breathe. They are sent to the emergency room and then transferred to an intensive care unit, all within a couple of hours. Now, imagine knowing that this could’ve been prevented.
The coronavirus, a disease that primarily affects the respiratory system, is expected to go from a pandemic to an endemic. This is a wake-up call for people to revisit history and learn from our past mistakes.
The importance of vaccinations needs to be known now more than ever.
While COVID-19 vaccinations are still being worked on and with talks of schools re-opening, the debate of whether or not students should be required to have a vaccination before returning to campuses should not be an argument.
History has taught us time and again that vaccinations and establishing safe guidelines help us prevent the number of fatalities and in some cases help us eradicate some of the world’s most deadly diseases.
BBC News reported that approximately 300 million people died from the smallpox disease in the 20th century alone. But, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the World Health Assembly announced that smallpox was completely eradicated globally in 1980 thanks to the vaccine.
COVID-19, which is highly contagious, could easily spread throughout a college’s population without guidelines and safety measures.
It would be best for colleges to take as many precautions as possible, including requiring its students to be vaccinated before returning to campus.
Colleges need to ensure the safety and well-being of both students and staff if it plans to reopen anytime soon.
The black plague alone took nearly 20 years before the public could return to normal. Who knows how long the effects of the coronavirus could last?
If the human race wants to survive, we’re going to have to work toward a collective group effort and each do our part to make sure we are keeping ourselves, and others around us, safe. It is our responsibility to ourselves to make sure we are doing everything we can to stop the spread of this disease.
Wear a mask, stay six feet apart, get vaccinated when it’s time and be kind to each other.