Asian Hate Crimes

Written By Winston Vo

In early 2020, a novel coronavirus, dubbed COVID-19, dominated the world and its inhabitants. Within a quarter of a year, it grew from an unremarkable epidemic in Wuhan, China to a world-wide pandemic. In the midst of the crisis, medical experts deemed it necessary to make adjustments to our quotidian lives. Thus, safety measures were enforced, news networks and official health organizations educated the masses on protection methods, and researchers and scientists made commendable efforts bringing an end to the plague. Now, a year after quarantine started, despite the various changes our lives have undergone, the end is imminent. For COVID-19 vaccinations have begun. Several vaccines are in testing, but only two have been officially authorized by FDA for emergency use (as of Feb. 18). The PfizerBioNTech, with a 95% efficacy rate, and Moderna COVID-19, with a 94.1% efficacy rate, vaccines are separated into two doses with three-week and four-week gaps, respectively; however, they will be ineffective if there is more than a six-week gap between each shot. Immunity longevity has not been confirmed yet. For now, the minimum age requirement for the vaccines is age 16 or older (ages 16+ for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and ages 18+ for Moderna vaccine), but extensive testing and development is being done for younger ages. Unlike the previous vaccines that injected weakened live viruses in an attempt to develop immunity, these new vaccines offer a more ingenious approach and is named mRNA vaccines. To achieve immunity, they give instructions for our cells to develop a protein similar to the novel coronavirus. When a recipient's immune system detects the unknown intruder, it will respond by making antibodies to fight it, and remember the recipe. Then, the body disposes of the mRNA. Furthermore, an added benefit is the recipient does not contract COVID-19, which means it is safe.However, not all bodies welcome foreign substances. Therefore, the vaccine's recipients may experience mild, temporary side effects, which includes pain and swelling at the location of the shot, fatigue, muscle pain, and a feeling of sickness. These typically occur three days after the shot and last one to two days. As a safety precaution, the recipient stays for fifteen minutes under professional surveillance in case of severe or immediate reactions. As local vaccine supplies are limited, distributions must be systematic. The vaccine will be given to the most vulnerable first. In our area, distribution is divided up into phases, two as of now and more to come. Phase 1A is currently the target of vaccinations. It includes healthcare workers and patients and staff of long-term care services. Depending on supply availability, members of Phase 2A, including seniors, emergency service workers, agriculture and food workers, teachers and childcare workers, and emergency service workers, could also be vaccinated. As concerns about allergies and reactions arise, major health providers have given information regarding the concern.