GET THE LATEST NEWS EVERY DAY AT QNS.COM
Your Neighborhood — Your News®
ALSO COVERING AUBURNDALE, COLLEGE POINT, DOUGLASTON, GLEN OAKS, FLORAL PARK
• LITTLE NECK LEDGER
• WHITESTONE TIMES
Dec. 25-Dec. 31, 2020
‘I HAVE LITTLE DOUBT ABOUT IT’
Local high school students speak out about arrival of COVID-19 vaccine
BY ERIN YOON
As COVID-19 cases once
again surge in Queens, the
FDA-approved Pfizer COVID-
19 vaccine is bringing hope to
a borough once home to the epicenter
of the pandemic.
Many believe the vaccine’s
creation signals a bright future.
Though some express
skepticism toward its hurried
production, countless studies
have shown the vaccine to be
effective and safe in clinical
trials. Beyond an allergic reaction
in one person in the United
States, there have been no adverse
events reported.
Queens high school students
demonstrated polarity
within their views of the vaccine
upon being asked whether
they would take it or not.
“I would take it once I’m
sure there are no harmful
side effects so I can play sports
again,” said Justin Lau, a student
at Benjamin N. Cardozo
High School. “But if I was not
sure about the safety of the
vaccine, I would not take it
since personal health is a bigger
priority.”
The vaccine feels like a risk,
he continued, especially because
its creation process was
so rushed. It is impossible to
know about any long-term dangers
at the moment, according
to Lau.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director
of the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases,
addressed the quick timeframe
in which the vaccine was created
on ABC News’ “Good Morning
America” on Tuesday.
“People understandably are
skeptical about the speed, but
we have to keep emphasizing
speed means the science was
extraordinary,” Fauci said.
At St. John’s Episcopal Hospital
in Far Rockaway, where
A woman receives a Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine shot. Victoria Jones/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
vaccinations for frontline workers
began earlier this week,
none of the 175 people who have
received the vaccine have reported
any adverse reaction.
Other Queens students
displayed more optimistic attitudes
regarding the plausibility
of the vaccine.
Samuel Kim, a junior at Bayside
High School who has been
working at a relative’s store
during the pandemic, looked to
the FDA for the vaccine’s credibility.
“I think it is promising,” he
stated. “The FDA did approve
Pfizer’s vaccine and I have little
doubt about it, although it is
one of the fastest vaccines to be
created.”
However, Kim, like many
others, decided that he would
wait until the vaccine’s safety
was confirmed by a reliable
population. There could be
downsides that are yet to be
known, he said.
Supinder Kaur, a junior at
Benjamin N. Cardozo High
School, told QNS she is eager to
take the vaccine.
“I am hopeful and would
heavily consider taking the
vaccine,” Kaur said.
Kaur asserted that the
FDA’s approval of the vaccine’s
production significantly bolsters
its credibility. Despite the
arrival of the vaccine, she said
that social distancing should
still be maintained in order to
achieve solid progress in quieting
the pandemic.
The vaccine is first being
distributed to frontline healthcare
workers who are most exposed
to the virus.
Vol. 86 No. 52 32 total pages
/QNS.COM
