US COVID death toll reaches 500,000
A year after COVID started, 500,000 people have passed because of the virus, making it very difficult for people to do daily things such as go to school and work. It also caused people to struggle with money, but now with the three different vaccines hopefully conditions will improve.
March 17, 2021
Recently on March 12, 2021, the U.S reached 28,992,000 COVID-19 cases and 527,000 deaths, a number that exceeds the 405,000 deaths caused by World War 2, 58,000 caused by the Korean war, and the 36,000 deaths of the Vietnam war combined. President Biden held a moment of silence for all the lives lost and added more restrictions to slowly stop the spread of COVID. He also ramped up vaccinations, claiming he would take a bigger approach to diminishing the virus by administering 100 million dollars worth of the different COVID vaccines during his first 100 days as president. Congress also ended up passing a $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill that will help families and people that have struggled a substantial amount due to the virus.
mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccines include the three vaccines, given by a shot in the upper arm. Which means scientists now developed a new type of vaccine to fight against contagious diseases like COVID, unlike other vaccines, these do not put weakened germs into one’s body. Instead, the vaccine teaches cells to create protein that triggers an immune response in one’s body. The response creates antibodies which kill illnesses such as the coronavirus. The vaccines also do not contain eggs, preservatives, and latex for those with allergies.
Clinical trials proved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine 95 percent effective. It also contains a number of possible side effects similar to those of other vaccinations such as pain, redness, and swelling where someone got the shot. Other potential side effects, like tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever, and nausea, can occur throughout the 21 days between doses of the vaccine. The Moderna vaccine came out shortly after Pfizer-BioNTech. Moderna adorns the same side effects as the first vaccine. Instead of getting the shot 21 days apart the person should receive it 28 days apart. The third vaccine, Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen vaccine also contains the same side effects. Unlike the other two shots, the person getting the vaccine must only receive one shot.
“I have different family members who got all the different vaccines and they all claimed to have the same side effects. A few are still waiting to see what happens once they get their second shot,” freshman Ryan Vickers said.
