Minot residents weigh in on whether they will get the COVID-19 vaccine

MINOT, N.D. – As the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out across the world, there are some who say they are still on the fence about getting it.

Some people say they fear that the process of creating the vaccine was too quick for it to be safe for the public. Others say they fear having adverse reactions to the vaccine. Meanwhile, others say the science is trustworthy.

On Monday night, we asked our viewers on Facebook if they were going to get the COVID-19 vaccine when it became available to them.

As of Tuesday afternoon, we had received more than 2,300 comments.

The overall outcome seems split down the middle, half of commenters wanted to get the vaccine and the other half did not.

For residents like Sylvester Schuster, getting the vaccine is a no brainer.

“I am going to take it this afternoon if they called me and let me take it. I want to get it taken because I am 82 years old and I haven’t got it so far. And I’m trying to be reasonably careful. We haven’t stopped living or anything like that, but I am going to take it immediately when its available, my wife will too,” said Schuster, a Minot resident.

However, some aren’t as on board with getting it.

“Would I get it? I don’t think so. I’m not afraid of COVID-19,” said David Badger, a Minot resident.

Others are on the fence, they said they aren’t sure of the science behind it.

“I heard about it’s going to change your DNA when you take it. So that’s my fear. But I want to see how people’s reaction is before I start taking it,” said Minot resident, Rose Uzokwe.

Health officials with First District Health Unit help try to clear up confusion or misconceptions about the vaccine.

“This is not a live vaccine. It will not give you the illness. This is a MRNA, is what it is called. It switches one protein for another, so your body recognizes it’s a bad one. It does not change your DNA in any way shape or form. It is impossible for that do that,” said County Nurse Coordinator for First District, Danell Eklund.

Encouraging Magic City residents to make sure they are getting information from a reliable source.

First Health encourages those who are able to get the vaccine do so when it comes out.

The public health unit is striving for at least 70% of the city to get the vaccine to help stomp out COVID so we can get back to normal as soon as possible.

The facility is expecting to get more than 200 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine this week.

They will be administering them to health care workers, staff, and EMT/EMS workers.

They are currently not taking appointments for the general public to get their vaccine.