Spencer Finley

Business & Science Editor

sjf5814@psu.edu

COVID-19 is still on the rise in the United States right now, meaning that getting your vaccination against the Coronavirus is extremely important. There are a number of reasons for this.

The first reason that it is important to go out and get vaccinated is that vaccinations can keep people from getting COVID-19 in the first place. The vaccines, while not 100 percent effective at keeping people from contracting COVID-19, are still reasonably effective at preventing people from falling ill with COVID. All vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration have between a 65 and 95 percent efficacy rate. 

Just as importantly, getting the COVID-19 vaccine can ensure that even if someone contracts COVID-19, the case that they have will be far milder than they would be if the infected person were unvaccinated. According to NPR, 97 percent of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 over the summer were unvaccinated. Although it is not unheard of for a fully vaccinated person to wind up in the hospital for COVID-19, it is far less likely that a fully vaccinated person winds up in the hospital than someone who is unvaccinated or even partially vaccinated. Additionally, it is less likely that someone who is vaccinated and contracts the Coronavirus will spread the disease.