“It’s going to be something that people are going to be asking in the coming years," Azar said. "If you are going to labs or to a lecture hall I feel like it’s going to be on questionnaires and whatnot."

He thought it’s better to be safe than sorry, especially because he volunteers at a dental clinic shadowing and fulfilling school requirements, with higher education getting the vaccine is a necessity. For Azar it would be out of the question not to get the vaccine.

After getting the vaccine he feels much less stressed than he did beforehand even if it’s just the first dose. According to a recent study in Israel a single dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is up to 85% effective. 

He thinks that with the second dose the trend is just going to continue of him feeling more safe and secure.

“I feel like just with the vaccine itself, knowing that it’s still a preventative measure, but better so than just masks and just staying safe,” Azar said. “I definitely feel like it was a positive mental trend.”

Azar was a little worried about the symptoms from the vaccine, but they ended up lasting for a day and the next day he was feeling completely fine.

“More so I’m just ready to kind of have everyone get vaccinated, you know, try to go back to a new style of living,” he said.

Undecided sophomore Zoey Williams got her vaccine at the end of January and has already received both doses.

She decided to get the vaccine because at the time she was a health care provider and caregiver to people who were immunocompromised. So when the option was available for Williams, she knew for safety purposes that she wanted to get it.

Initially Williams thought the vaccine would make her thoughts on the pandemic shift. 

“I thought my mentality was going change, I thought I would feel invincible, but I definitely am still as apprehensive and strict about the rules for COVID I have for myself,” she said.

However, the vaccine does offer her a peace of mind knowing that she has it. If she were exposed in any way she knows the chances of her getting COVID would be small.

Physiology sophomore Sophia Rubio got both doses in January. She works at Sparrow Hospital as a patient care technician and was encouraged to get the vaccine for work, but she also just wanted it for herself and being around family members of older age. She figured it wouldn’t hurt. 

“I think it has made me less stressed out overall," she said. "If I am in a large group setting or with more than five people I know that I have it (the vaccine).”

Rubio still believes that COVID is present, but the vaccine can definitely be helpful in limiting the spread of it. 

Nursing junior Olivia Gross received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine January through February. 

She got the vaccine because as a nursing student she has clinicals in the hospital and knew she could potentially be exposed to COVID patients.  

“But regardless, even if I wasn’t working in the hospital, I wanted to get it because I trust and believe in science, obviously being someone that is studying science I know that this vaccine is the only way to help end the pandemic,” Gross said.

She also wanted to make sure that she was being safe when going home, and Gross felt a lot more comfortable after getting the vaccine going home and seeing her parents.

After getting the vaccine she doesn’t feel as anxious going out and bringing anything back to her friends and family. Even though she’s still following all of the recommended precautions she feels a lot more at ease.

She thinks that students' mentality will probably change after getting the vaccine because students want to take advantage of their college years, interact with others, be able to go out and enjoy their experience. 

“I think their mentality will change if they do have the vaccine," Gross said. "They might feel more comfortable to do those things now that we have this extra layer of immunity."