Since the Covid-19 pandemic began in March 2020, scientists everywhere have worked tirelessly to create a cure, eventually introducing the long-awaited vaccine to the American public in December. “The Covid vaccines are highly effective at preventing serious disease from coronavirus,” said Pediatrician Andria Chizner. “By getting the vaccine, you are protecting yourself, your family, and your community. The vaccine will ultimately help to end this pandemic,” she added.

However, as more and more people are eligible to receive the vaccine, there is concern that people might become careless and believe that they are no longer susceptible to the virus and can no longer spread it. While it is important to get the vaccine to help end the pandemic, people should remain cautious in order to prevent the spread of another outbreak. 

 The vaccine has not been proven to completely protect against the coronavirus. According to the New York Times, “Scientists cite several reasons for staying masked and cautious as you start your post-vaccine life. Vaccines don’t offer perfect protection; we don’t yet know whether vaccinated people can spread the virus; and coronavirus is likely to continue its rapid spread until a large majority of the population is vaccinated or has survived a natural infection.”

To move forward, people must stay wary and should not get careless. In Lynbrook and at many other schools, including colleges, students have been attending large gatherings, like weekend parties, because they believe that the number of Covid-19 cases are on the decline. As soon as people began to see a decline in numbers, they got reckless, and the numbers skyrocketed as a result. This occurred before there was a vaccine. Now, with a vaccine being offered to many Americans, people have continued to be careless. People must be considerate and continue to follow guidelines until scientists believe it is safe to slowly begin getting back to normal.

In a lot of states, many groups of people do not yet qualify for the vaccine. Those people are still at risk, and while people who are vaccinated might feel safe, they still should not be selfish and put the unvaccinated people in danger. Covid-19 guidelines were put in place to protect everyone and should continue to be followed. Even when most of the population has received the vaccine, precautions should still be taken. Masks should still be worn inside when in large groups, social distancing should still be practiced, and people should not have large gatherings, especially inside. 

Spanish teacher Danielle Leighley continues to follow the rules, but since getting the vaccine, she feels safer. “I feel a lot more comfortable and safe, and I do not want to get in trouble, so I still follow the guidelines,” she said. “I do feel more comfortable seeing friends and family that I know are vaccinated without a mask. However, in public and outside, around people I do not know are vaccinated, I wear my mask and continue to socially distance,” she added. People should follow her advice, and continue to protect the people around them. 

It is not safe to completely go “back to normal” when many people still have not received the vaccine. We are a far way off from completely healing, but if everyone does what the doctors recommend, and if everyone is safe — even with the vaccine — we can push through this together, and end this pandemic once and for all.