Vaccine Decisions Cause Stress and Concern

At first, Nancy was scared. Her thoughts raced: it’s going to get out of control again. We’re never going to move past this. The 44-year-old daycare director was reminded of the pandemic’s effects by the teary eyes of parents picking up their children after work at the hospital.

But Nancy Halaka doesn’t live in fear. She was vaccinated for COVID-19 and thinks people should not avoid the shots because they’re scared. 

“I think it is everybody’s choice,” said Halaka. “I understand people’s hesitance. But at the same time, now that so many people have been vaccinated, and looking at the history of vaccinations, there’s always negative [effects] to everything. Nothing is 100%.”

The CDC received the first reported case of Omicron on Nov. 24, 2021, in South Africa. By Dec. 1, the variant had reached the United States. As winter wears on, nationwide coronavirus cases are expected to increase. According to the CDC, as of Dec. 9, the 7-day average of daily new cases increased by more than 37% from the previous week. With surges looming, fear of the Omicron variant has pushed some to get the COVID-19 vaccine.  Others, however, feel no need to be vaccinated.

This is the stance of a 39-year-old Milwaukee IT recruiter, who chose to remain anonymous due to concerns of judgement over her unvaccinated status. She has adjusted her lifestyle as a result, limiting family gatherings, working from home, wearing masks in public, and ceasing travel altogether.

But the recruiter is not afraid. She heard the symptoms of Omicron are milder than past variants and feels no urgency to get vaccinated.

“I know people that are vaccinated are still getting COVID,” said the recruiter. “I had COVID twice and survived, so I’m confident I don’t need a vaccine.”

Since their introduction in December 2020, COVID-19 vaccines have been met with harsh criticism and hesitancy from skeptics. This has resulted in division between those who choose to be vaccinated and those who don’t. The polarity has distorted the groups’ outlook on each other, severing communities. Today, more than 60% of Americans are fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data.

Sixteen-year-old student Megan Murphy would love to be in this demographic if her parents would let her. Although she thinks people should have a choice, she thinks being vaccinated is a good choice.

“It’s caused a couple arguments with my parents,” said Murphy. “I’ve tried to explain why vaccines would be beneficial, but I’ve learned that they’re not going to let me. So, I just let it go for now.”

While Megan must wait to get vaccinated, she isn’t too worried about the risks of Omicron. She has already had COVID-19, and she thinks her natural immunity might help her.

So far, Omicron has proven to be a milder variant than previous coronavirus cases, though research is still ongoing.