COVID Vaccine: Three College Students Share Their Concerns

By Josie Jack

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 41 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and more doses are shipped to states daily. However, vaccine hesitancy is still a major obstacle in achieving the 70–90 percent vaccination rate necessary for herd immunity.

Some who decline the vaccine say they’re worried about potential long-term health risks, some believe vaccinations to be against their religion and others cite fabricated conspiracy theories surrounding vaccines as the reason for their hesitancy.

Regardless of how people feel about the COVID-19 vaccine, some employers and universities require their staff and students to receive it. Three vaccine-hesitant college students shared their thoughts on these requirements and why they do not want the vaccine.

Serious about COVID, hesitant about the vaccine

Destiny Bell, a University of Maryland junior, has taken the pandemic seriously. She has high-risk family members, so she has worn masks religiously while outside of the house.

“The CDC has made me rethink my life and rethink how disgusting people can be,” Bell said. “So I’m gonna wear my mask for a [long time] around strangers.”

Neither she nor anyone in her immediate family has had COVID.

Despite her continued health safety measures, Bell did not want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. In order for her to attend the University of Maryland in person in the fall, though, she had to receive the vaccine.

“Do I want it? No. Do I feel like a test dummy? Yes,” she said.

Bell worries about the potential long-term health effects of the vaccine now that she is fully vaccinated.

There have been no reported long-term side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine thus far.

Though Bell understands the need for herd immunity, she questions UMD’s motives for requiring the vaccine for all students in the fall.

“Are they really concerned about the safety, or are they concerned about the money that they (students) bring into the university?”

Wishing there were options

ShaRelle Fleming, a junior at Towson University, also does not want the shot, and for similar reasons.

“We don’t know what’s supposed to happen, like one, two years later,” Fleming said.

She has yet to receive the vaccine, but she plans on getting it in July as her university also requires it.

“I don’t like it, but I see why we have to do it,” Fleming said. “I feel like there should be other options for students who don’t really want to get vaccinated.”

She gave continuing online classes as an example of other options. Fleming also said that she plans to wear her mask while in public, even post-vaccination.

“I don’t really need to”

Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising student Mercedes Noya, also a junior, does not see the point in receiving the vaccine given that she is young and healthy.

“I can spread it, but I can’t get it, and I just feel like if all the older people who would be more affected by it get it then I don’t really need to,” she explained.

Despite low death rates among young COVID patients, illness and long term health effects are still possible.

In the end, she chose to get vaccinated in part because her grandparents encouraged her to, but also because she fears her school will require it, though they do not as of now.

Noya said her general attitude toward COVID and COVID policies is simple: “I just follow the rules.”

She wears a mask when required in public but not around friends, and she got vaccinated to follow potential school rules. Noya thinks that other college students likely feel the same.

“Some just think it’s, like, the right thing to do, so they get it, but people my age who are still in school, it’s more like you think it’s a requirement for your school,” she said.

Overall, college students seem to be getting vaccinated at high rates. At the University of Maryland, 72.5 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, according to self-reported data. But, there are still college students who decline, delay or begrudgingly receive their shots.

“It’s important not to judge others on their decision,” Bell said. “I think that it’s important for everyone to realize that this is a personal decision… people need to do what’s best for them, what makes them feel okay, mentally, physically and emotionally.”

Josie Jack is a University of Maryland journalism student. She loves writing about the human impact of today’s news. In her free time, Jack enjoys weightlifting, playing with her dog, and listening to music.

This article appeared in the COVID-19 Observer on June 4, 2021.