After a little over a year since the first case of COVID-19 became widely known, there is a vaccine, but not just one, there are three vaccines that are available for workers who directly work with patients or persons 65 years and older.

According to Sheboygan County, in the age range from 20 to 29, there have been over 2,000 cases, as of Feb. 6, that shows that college students’ age range is the highest group affected for 2021. In the Fall 2020 semester, Lakeland had to close the campus and switched to completely online classes because of COVID-19’s outbreak.

Now that there has been a vaccine made, they have been handing them out to all the people who would need it first, like the healthcare workers, and so on. As of January, most healthcare workers, the age group of 65 or older are allowed to take a vaccine. College student’s age group has not been given an estimated time for the vaccine.

One student on campus, Justin Adame, described his perspective on taking a vaccine that “If this vaccine was not rushed, I would have gotten it already if I could. But with time and learning more about the vaccine, I would get it in the future, when we know more about this.”

Another student, Brian Brickham, had a different view on the vaccine. “If I could get it now, I would but, it is not available to my age group yet. The reason I would is that I am in an older age group, I was also a heavy smoker in my past, so my lungs are not very strong as they once were, and I do not think I would survive on a ventilator if I was put on one, especially since I vape now on top of that. Since science shows that this could help, I think it would be a good choice for me in the long run,” Brickham stated.

Talking with Lakeland students on campus, if they would get the vaccine or not, and depending on their age they all said something different and it shows that people do or do not think that we should have a vaccine. The flu is still around but we do not think to get the flu shot or every strain, what would be the difference for COVID-19.

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, eligible employees and students, who were working directly with COVID-19 patients or working directly with virus or virus samples, took the vaccine at the University Health Service on Jan. 5. While it is estimated to take many more months before all of the students and faculty could get the vaccines, Lakeland, as a community, might be able to go back to normal but until then this is the new normal.