By EMILY PRINSTEIN

After a little over a year of the coronavirus pandemic terrifying people all around the world the vaccine has now become available to the general population. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been over 106 million COVID-19 cases in the world alone, with 3.4 million of those cases originating from California.

Starting on December 14th, the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines began with nearly 262 million people in the United States having received at least one dose of the vaccine. The Biden administration has made a goal of trying to at least put out 1.4 million shots a day. 

Hayley Prinstein, 17, getting her first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at Arroyo Valley Highschool in San Bernardino, California. (Ethic News Photo/Emily Prinstein)

There are now three different COVID-19 vaccines that people can choose from: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The side effects from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that most people are experiencing are pain and soreness at the injection site, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain and fever. However, the most common side effects of the Moderna vaccine are nausea, vomiting and fever. 

“I felt very tired and my arm was really sore after I got the Moderna vaccine,” said Tim Prinstein, a health care worker. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine differs from the other two, it is only a one dose vaccine and does not contain mRNA. The most common side effects are headaches, fever, fatigue, nausea and muscle aches. However, the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration noted that women under the age of 50 should be aware of the risk of blood clots.

The most frequent concerns of the vaccines question their validity, as well as if they can truly be trusted. 

Kristina Dewbre, a community member, posed the question: “Will getting the vaccine mean I can give the virus to others while experiencing side effects?” In response to the public’s many questions, the CDC issued a statement saying, “No. None of the authorized and recommended vaccines contain the live virus that causes COVID-19. This means that a COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19.” 

It is important to note that even if an individual has already experienced COVID-19 symptoms, either of the three vaccines are still needed to be taken, as it is important to build immunity and antibodies to fight against not just one but all strains of COVID-19.