Vaccinated Against COVID-19 versus Refusal of Vaccination

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Vaccinated Against COVID-19 versus Refusal of Vaccination

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the US government to take measures such as lockdowns to help stop the spread of the disease but with the discovery of vaccines and the continued vaccination of people, the restrictions have been relaxed. However, some people are against the use of vaccines and have been vocal about the issue on both online and offline platforms, their reasons are based on both historical data that fuels the distrust of the healthcare industry and illogical conspiracy theories. For instance, some anti-vaxxers believe that the COVID-19 vaccinations contain microchips, which would enable the monitoring of the global population (Islam, et al., 2021). For some African Americans who are against vaccinations, it is mainly because of distrust of the healthcare industry, in the past scientists used people from the population for medical experiments without their consent (Bunch, 2021). 

Nonetheless, to eradicate COVID globally, vaccines are important because they help in the increased production of antibodies that provide immunity against the disease. Therefore, one of the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines is that will reduce the number of morbidity and mortality cases (Hasan et al., 2021). Currently, 33.4 million COVID-19 cases and over 600,000 deaths have been reported in the US but vaccination of people has the potential of significantly reducing the severe effects of the disease, thereby enabling the complete return of social normalcy. Another benefit is that vaccinations help reduce hospitalization; according to Moghadas et al. (2020) vaccines with 95 percent efficacy had the potential of reducing non-ICU hospitalization by 65.6 percent and ICU hospitalization by 69.3 percent. Currently, the vaccines that are authorized and recommended in the US to prevent COVID-19 are; Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen, of these, only the Pfizer-BioNTech has a 95 percent efficacy (CDC, 2021).

The consequences of not getting vaccinated are significant not only to the individual but also to the country. If more people are unvaccinated, it may lead to the development of new COVID-19 variants, which may make the current vaccines less effective, thus, more difficult to eradicate the disease (WHO, 2021). When a disease continuously spreads in a population it changes and replicates, thus, it may lead to more infections and severity hence, increased cases of morbidity as well as mortality (WHO, 2021).  Furthermore, with more cases of infections, hospitalizations are increased which have a significant impact on an individual’s income and the country’s economy. Bartsch et al. (2021) averred that a vaccinated individual may experience minor side effects that require them to incur the cost of over-the-counter drugs for a short period but an unvaccinated person will have to incur the direct cost of hospitalization. Also, they may have to seek more treatment for the complications experienced because of COVID-19 such as chest pain. Additionally, with increased hospitalization, people will have to be absent from work leading to loss of productivity and decline in the country’s economic activity (Bartsch et al., 2021). Further, it will overburden the hospital resources including the revenue spent on treating patients with COVID-19, the healthcare workers, and the equipment such as ventilators that are required to help patients get better. In such a case, the quality of care provided to COVID-19 patients may decrease as healthcare practitioners’ are overwhelmed as they try and meet all their needs, which leads to increased mortality rates (Bartsch et al., 2021).

Therefore, while the debate on COVID-19 vaccinations continues, research has shown that the benefits are significant for both the individual and the US. However, even as more people are vaccinated and the restrictions are lifted, practicing safety measures such as washing hands regularly is still important to help prevent reinfection as well as help eradicate COVID-19.

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