Just today, the UK approved the Pfizer COVID vaccine. They’re hoping to start allowing people to take the vaccine by Christmas. With this new development, I started thinking about how people would react to such news.

I’m still scared, I think it’s going to be a while before I start to even go out regularly (mask and all). I don’t know, I think I’m just a very skeptical person in certain situations and I would just love to be entirely sure that I’m safe no matter where I go or what I do. And I bet that there are many people like me, so I don’t think that it’s weird. It makes sense. I mean, in the midst of a pandemic, I think most people have developed a sense of skepticism in certain aspects of their lives. 

On the other hand, I’m also scared that people will take this news as an opportunity to bring themselves back to complete normalcy. First of all, the vaccine has only been cleared in the UK. Second of all, it hasn’t even been administered to the general public yet. I just don’t think that it’s safe to go out without a mask and start hanging out in large crowds again, with the hope of banking on a vaccine if things go wrong; a vaccine that hasn’t even gotten a chance to prove it’s worth to everybody yet. Yes, it’s obviously very dreary and dull to have to stay inside all the time, but isn’t that just a small price to pay for your own safety? I mean, surely, we can find it in ourselves to hold on for a little longer before we convince ourselves that everything’s “all good”. 

I think my main point here is that just because we hear good news, it doesn’t mean that we have to act recklessly because we’ll have something to fall back on. Because honestly, that isn’t guaranteed. It feels great to know that things are getting better. Believe me, I was elated to hear that a vaccine had been approved. But, I don’t know, it just seems as though we’d be jinxing it if we went back on all the habits we’ve worked so hard to integrate into our lives these past few months. 

Maybe we just hold back on all the group outings? And maybe we cut down on the “I need my freedom” mentality. Just for a little while; just until we really know that we’re safe.