UNNECESSARY FEAR

UNNECESSARY FEAR

By Chaslie Lamas

There is nothing like waking up to a sore arm the day after getting a vaccine. This time, though, the pain was different. The pain was accompanied by relief, power, and a sense of responsibility. As we all know, the pandemic begåan in March 2020, and ever since, our lives have been changed in so many ways. Taking responsibility to do what is best for ourselves and for our communities while knowing that there is one less thing to worry about during a time of chaos and pain, is empowering. 

“The pain was accompanied by relief, power, and a sense of responsibility. ”

Today, I am full of hope. Hope is a very strange feeling because it fills you with energy, but it can be scary to be hopeful in a time of uncertainty. I have hope because I see the long lines forming with people eager to get vaccinated to do what is right for themselves and their families. I have hope because slowly the amount of people who have received the vaccine is increasing. I have hope because throughout this tough year, this community has remained resilient and has supported each other through the most chaotic and painful of years many of us have faced. I have hope that soon my immunocompromised parents will be able to get vaccinated, and I will no longer feel the immense fear of them having to risk their lives simply to go grocery shopping.

“I have hope because throughout this tough year, this community has remained resilient and has supported each other through the most chaotic and painful of years many of us have faced. ”

Ensuring people are vaccinated is only the first step toward climbing that hill towards healing. I urge us to do what is right and get vaccinated as soon as we are able to. Let's protect ourselves, our families, and encourage everyone around us to trust science and get the COVID-19 vaccine. Let’s stop the spread of rumors and misinformation about the vaccine because it creates unnecessary fear in our communities. That fear overshadows the reality and trauma of so much of what we have lost before the vaccine. Getting our community vaccinated is urgent and necessary because the Eastside is one of the communities that has been hit the hardest by COVID-19. It is also one of the ways to take back our power to honor everyone we needlessly lost because the vaccine didn’t get here soon enough. After a year full of stress and fear, I am hopeful, and it has been far too long since I have felt this way.

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