With the vaccination of essential workers and seniors in the works, states have moved on to vaccinating children and adolescents. Many students all over the country have been vaccinated, in hopes that things can go back to normal, and that is especially true for McHenry.

Being in the middle of a pandemic, some parents and students have struggled with the idea of vaccinations. While balancing their own morals and social pressure, many students such as junior Emily Rosinski, has made the decision to get vaccinated. 

“What made me want to get it [the vaccine], is knowing that I will be safe, and I’m helping others that can’t get the vaccine,” explains Rosinski. “I did feel pressured in a sense to get it because there’s two sides to everything -someone will be made that you decided not to get it, and others will also be mad that you got it.”

Many other students have received, or are going to receive the vaccine. On the flip side though, many students such as junior Jake Webster, getting the vaccine isn’t a priority.

“I don’t want the vaccine because it is not officially FDA approved, and has only been around for a couple of months,” explains Webster.  “The fact that the government is pushing the vaccine is quite scary, why do we need the vaccine if numbers are going down?”

Case numbers, however, are going up in many parts of the United States and, on April 9, the State of Illinois approved the Pfizer vaccine for ages 16 and up. The vaccines does have FDA emergency authorization.

To get, or not to get the vaccine has been a huge debate this past year, and has made the decision hard for many people. With more than 56 million people being vaccinated, many more are to be distributed, and a lot of those amongst the school populations. 

The Pfizer vaccine used on teenagers has been found to be extremely effective. 

During the months leading up to April, Pfizer and BioNTech partnered up to give vaccines to teenagers 16 and older. According to their data, the vaccine has been proven 100 percent effective on pre-teens and teens ages 12-15. But, more studies need to be done before everyone gets the vaccine.

Scientists and doctors fear that there will be a boom in the amount of teenagers and kids getting COVID. But with many taking the vaccine, it is hoped that numbers will maintain a steady decrease in the number of cases, especially in schools.

“In the end my hopes are that things start to become normal again, or our so called, “new normal,” says Rosinski.

This story was updated to reflect changes in COVID cases and Pfizer’s emergency authorization for ages 16 and over.