After living through the COVID-19 pandemic, many people sympathize with the sentiment of wanting this to be over. Yet when offering a solution through the vaccine, many are still hesitant on whether to get it or not. It’s important to ignore misinformation and instead focus on COVID vaccine facts.

One of the main hesitations is the speed at which the COVID-19 vaccine was developed. Traditional vaccines take between 10-15 years to design and administer and the COVID-19 vaccination took less than a few months. However, this is not the first time this has happened; the H1N1 vaccine also was developed in a few short months.

Both of these vaccines are completely safe and as effective as those that have gone through a longer development process. The COVID-19 vaccine was able to be fast tracked due to global collaboration, previous research, government support, and scientific facts that mRNA vaccines are easier to develop.

The vaccine was put through the same testing processes as traditional ones as well. It underwent a clinical trial period and lab trials. In fact, only 7% of the COVID-19 vaccine potentials made it through the testing period which shows that there was significant testing done.

Another fear of the vaccine is that it will give you COVID-19. Unlike traditional vaccines that use a deactivated version of the virus that it is prevented against, the COVID-19 vaccination contains no live virus at all. It is a mRNA vaccine that is designed to help support your immune response to COVID-19.

While COVID-19 vaccines are not currently mandated anywhere, that does not mean that you should not get one. In order for our society to go back to “normal” sans masks and social distancing, the majority of the population needs to get vaccinated. If you are hesitant about any aspects of the COVID-19 vaccine, do some simple research to assuage your fears.