While most Bradley students are still waiting just to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, a small group of students have already gotten both doses into their arms.
The main source of that small group is Bradley’s nursing majors, such as junior Bella Amato who is among the select few that are fully inoculated against COVID-19.
According to The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Bradley nursing students are a part of Phase 1A, the first group that has priority access to the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This includes healthcare personnel and long-term care residents and staff.
Students in many of Bradley’s other 139 undergraduate majors will have to wait until Phase 2 when more vaccines are distributed and are widely available to the general public.
With vaccine distribution continuing to increase, Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker has announced that all Illinoisans over the age of 16 will be eligible to sign up beginning April 12.
Amato received an email from the nursing department at the beginning of February about being a part of the first group to get the vaccine.
Although Amato said that there was no requirement for nursing students to get vaccinated, the department strongly encouraged both students and faculty to get the shots.
According to Amato, some nursing students elected not to receive the vaccine due to the vaccine not being on the market very long. Other reasons include having the capability to continue a normal routine without needing to be vaccinated by following mask-wearing and physical distancing guidelines.
The reported reactions after people received their doses of the vaccine caused Amato to hesitate on whether to get vaccinated or not. but knowing the importance of her clinicals towards her education, she decided to roll up her sleeves.
“I was more nervous because I heard how bad people’s side-effects were,” Amato said. “That made me kind of not want to get it, but I did anyway because I didn’t want to go to clinicals without it.”
Receiving the Moderna two-shot vaccine at UnityPoint, like many before her Amato experienced some mild symptoms such as fatigue and pain at the injection spot, especially after the second dose.
With three FDA-approved vaccines on the market, Amato believes that while all three vaccines are good, one stands out above the rest.
“I would say the Moderna only because from what I hear it has the highest immunity rate,” Amato said. “They say that it is the best one out of the three to get and that’s why you may get so sick from it.”
Even though completely vaccinated, Amato feels a sense of relief, but still is cautious when it comes to following social distancing as well as wearing a face covering.
“I still practice good hygiene and stuff like that so that I don’t get other people sick,” Amato said. “It hasn’t really changed anything for me but it has made people around me more comfortable with them knowing that I am fully vaccinated, like patients I take care of.”