After several months of thorough research and studies, the science community finally developed vaccines to help everyone protect themselves from Covid-19. In the middle of these tough times where many lives have been lost, and many individuals are still fighting for their lives, vaccines turned as the ray of hope.
Vaccination is an easy, effective, and secure method of safeguarding everyone against dangerous diseases. According to the World Health Organization, vaccines lessen the hazards of contracting a disease by working with your body’s immunity. The moment that you get the shot, your immune system gradually creates a response to it. Moreover, when they get injected into your body, it does the following: notices the foreign bodies, like viruses and bacteria; creates antibodies to fight them; and remembers the disease and how to defeat it.
Covid-19 had been igniting fear to many ever since its outbreak last year. Its ability to spread and infect others quickly increased the fear that has been lingering in people’s lives. Furthermore, kids below 15 years old and people over 50 years old are more vulnerable to the virus, added to society’s tension. According to the Oxford Academic, individuals having underlying medical conditions have higher chances to contract the disease.
In America, many elderly are residing at nursing homes or taken care of by caregivers in their homes. For the latter, their caregivers must do their best to sanitize their home, follow health protocols, and execute proper hygiene. It is one of the requirements of a caregiver to put the safety and comfort of the elderly first before themselves. In the book One Caregiver’s Journey, Eleanor Gaccetta’s prerequisite to becoming a caregiver was ideally tackled and spotlighted; and, this might help caregivers understand the nature of their jobs.
With the current situation, many may have second thoughts about whether or not to get vaccinated. The older people might have a lot of questions regarding the efficiency and side effects of the shots. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of severe diseases that are the product of Covid-19 is directly proportional to a person’s age. That is why seniors are among the most important people who should be vaccinated as early as possible, not only to eliminate the risk of getting infected and suffer from the virus but also to prevent infecting others.
From the second week of December 2020 to the first week of April 2021, there are already more than 160 million doses of vaccines that were administered in the U.S.A. in the hopes of making people immune from the virus. Studies have shown that the vaccines are safe and are working based on how the researchers designed them to be, which is to prevent the effects of Covid-19. Since there are different vaccine brands, the seniors may ask help from their caregivers to investigate and compare each available vaccine. They can also talk to their regular physician for advice on whether they should immediately get a shot or which brand they should get. However, once a person secures an appointment to be vaccinated they will receive the vaccine on hand by that provider. Currently, Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson are the only vaccines approved in the US.
Seniors, moreover, should know that different side effects commonly show after receiving their first to second shot of vaccine. These side effects include arm pain, nausea, chills, headache, swelling, fatigue, and more. Since every person’s body is different, some will experience a short-term effect after getting their shots, while others may go through a long-term effect afterward. However, the latter rarely happens based on the feedback given by those who got their shots.
Therefore, in this fight with the virus, everyone must also do their part. Cooperating with the medical community and protecting themselves from Covid-19 are two of the essential things seniors can do to protect themselves at this time. Seniors, vulnerable as they are, should get vaccinated to prevent the risk of contracting the virus, experience some complications, and avoid infecting others. With the different feedback emerging from those who just got vaccinated, those who are having second thoughts should look closely and weigh things out. It is not only that their lives that can be at stake if they don’t get the prevention developed to fight Covid-19 but also the lives of the people around them. But, the decision is all in their hands.
Oliver’s Twist 