First batch of Covid vaccines expected to arrive to Texas

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Michael Martin

All Texans, 16 and older, are now eligible to receive their vaccination for COVID-19,

Kirthi Gummadi, WTV Staff Reporter

With the first batch of COVID vaccines scheduled to arrive in Texas in a matter of days, many are faced with deciding whether or not to get the vaccine. 

In addition to making vaccines available for workers on the frontline, there are debates on whether teachers should be higher up on the list of priority

For science teacher Richard Sabatier, access to the vaccine would be extremely helpful. 

“I think obviously the people to put at the top are gonna be your front line healthcare workers, because they’re in it, they’re being exposed to it all the time,” he said. “But I do think it makes sense to have teachers be pretty up there, we are exposed everyday to a lot of people. Even though classes are smaller this year, I’m exposed on a daily basis to 40 or 50 people, it’s gonna increase your odds of getting it.”

Despite when it will be available, Sabatier is ready to get vaccinated.

“I would say ‘put it in me, give me the vaccine, I’ll take it yesterday,”’ he said. “We know, the experts tell us it is effective and it is safe, and I think the important thing is to listen to what experts tell us. They know what’s going on. The more people that get vaccinated, the more quickly, the sooner we can be over all this.”

While Sabatier is enthusiastic about getting the vaccine, other teachers want to wait and see. 

“I kinda just want to know a little bit more about it,” social studies teacher Jennifer Nelken said. “I’m just curious to know exactly when It’ll come out and I’ve just been reading some different things and it said it’s been tested on 44,000 people and it seems like it could be tested a little more and so I’ll wait just a little bit and see what happens.”

Students are also split on what they want to do. 

“I don’t think I’m gonna get the vaccine only because, same with the flu, I haven’t really gotten any type of shot for the flu or anything and I haven’t had it and I would not like to have the flu,” freshman Dani Williams said. “With the covid vaccine I just don’t feel like it would really affect anyway, because you can still get the virus, you can still get sick, you just have to go through it to get over it instead of getting a vaccine for it.” 

“I’m going to get the vaccine because I have asthma and that could make it worse on my body,” freshman Evan Bucker said. “And I also have a family back home so I can’t bring corona virus to my dad, my mom, my sister. I’d rather get the vaccine and have it over with and if I get it after then it’ll be a lot less worse for like a week or so, instead of me having to be at home for two weeks with me coughing and making my parents worry about me, my grandparents worry about me for those two weeks.”