Commentary by Jamison Guice, Campus Carrier features editor

Picnics in the sun, carpool karaoke, concerts in the park and even shaking hands with a stranger, it has been an entire year without all of the things that I did not think I would have missed, things that I took for granted. After reading President Steve Brigg’s email regarding vaccine sign-ups, I thought I would have leaped in joy but, instead, I considered deleting the email and acting like I never read it.

Even though I miss seeing my friends’ faces, even if they do have a little mask acne, I hate shots. I hate needles. I hate blood. While not everyone can relate to this, my faint-hearted peers will understand – if the COVID-19 vaccine could somehow be avoided, I would have figured it out by now.

I received the shot on Wednesday in an effort to preemptively curtail any plans of canceling my appointment time. Once I walked down the Cage’s bleachers,

I was directed to station one and, in less than a minute, it was over. In the seconds when the shot was in the air, aiming for my arm, I had flashbacks to my October flu shot – I could not even raise my arm for two weeks after. But the first COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine shot was actually painless.

As someone with low pain tolerance, it hurt worse to get my ears pierced (the first hole). As I walked to the bleachers to wait out the 15 minutes, it was nice to know that I was one step closer to normality.

Commentary by Alana George, Campus Carrier copy editor

Remember “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”? It’s a great movie. The characters are unique, and while the Oompa Loompas are a little creepy and that boat scene is actually terrifying, it has some really great moments. One of my favorites is when Charlie buys a Wonka bar with a coin he finds on the street and opens it to find the last of the five Golden Tickets. His face of shock and pure joy was imprinted on my mind from the first time I watched that movie as a child, and I always hoped I would have a moment like that in my life. I can truthfully say that I had that moment at around 2 p.m. on Wednesday when I was handed my official Center for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination card. 

I have never been a huge fan of needles, but getting blood drawn was always worse for me than shots, because shots are usually over much faster. Additionally, both of my grandmothers have been vaccinated for COVID-19 with no negative side effects, so I was confident in my own immune system. So, when President Steve Briggs sent out the email about vaccines being available at Berry this week, I was very excited. I knew from the moment vaccines became available that I wanted one, but I wanted to be one of the last ones in line, so that anyone who needed it more could get it in my stead. I signed up for my slot right away and counted down the days until Wednesday. 

My time at the Cage could not have been easier. I went in, handed over my paperwork, got the shot and walked out with my CDC vaccination card in just over 15 minutes. The shot itself was absolutely painless. I would encourage every Berry student to get their vaccine, even if you are scared of needles, for the greater good. Returning to normalcy will be the greatest good we can possibly get.