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            According to Center of Disease Control Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 deaths have now hit 906,903 with over 76,976,575 cases in the United States (US) (CDC). Has the COVID-19 vaccine saved human from the pandemic? How many people have been saved during the pandemic because of the vaccine? During the end of 2020, there was a critical concern in the United States over a virus called COVID-19. The virus can easily take away human lives at any time by destroying the organs within days. Can we trust the government to get COVID-19 vaccinated? Is it worth to risk our health during global pandemic by not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine? Let’s explore whether or not the government can be trusted when it comes to COVID-19 vaccine.

Katalin Kariko is a doctor in the field of biochemistry, and one of the leading researchers that led to the approval/development of the COVID-19 vaccines (“Meet Dr. Kariko”). Along with the help of her work colleague, Drew Weissman, the scientists helped paved the way for the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology to be used in the popular Pfizer and Moderna vaccines (“Meet Dr. Kariko”). From Kariko’s many years of experience, to her life’s work, to her unrelenting approach towards a brighter future without the fear of a global pandemic, Katalin Kariko’s passion towards biochemistry and research cannot be overstated.

            Discovering her life’s passion at an early age, Katalin was encouraged by her teacher to pursue a career in nature/biology in 1978 (“Katalin Kariko”). Being raised in a small town in Kisujszallas, Hungary, Kariko’s potential was clear. As when she was only in the eighth grade, she joined a competition about national biology, and was awarded as the third-best runner in the country of Hungary (“Katalin Kariko”). Eventually, Kariko graduated from the University of Szeged, and became a full-fledged scientist that has revolutionized the usage, understanding, and potential of mRNA technology (“Meet Dr. Kariko”).

            In the face of doubt, pushback, and an insurmountable amount of pressure from the pandemic, Kariko’s unrelenting and unyielding personality was on for display in her research for a potential solution to the COVID-19 vaccine. For decades, Dr. Katalin Kariko and her colleague, Drew Weissman, have researched RNA-mediated mechanisms with the end-goal of increasing the therapeutic potential of using mRNA in treating diseases. As a senior vice president at BioNTech in 2013, and her exhaustive expertise in the realm of biochemistry and mRNA, Kariko was called upon to develop a COVID-19 vaccine (“Katalin Kariko”). To combat the global pandemic that is COVID-19, Kariko argued with her scientific peers that they must revolutionize their approach to vaccines so that they can incorporate mRNA technology to stop the spread of COVID-19 (“Katalin Kariko”). Being one of the world’s leading experts in mRNA technology, it was only a matter of time before Kariko solved the puzzle that is the elusive COVID-19 vaccine. Her relentless approach towards her research has led to the development of the BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

            Having the passion for the field of biochemistry, Kariko never allowed her peers to waver her confidence in her research regarding mRNA technology. After decades of research, while the two companies that were licensed had not yet solved the tortuous puzzles of mRNA potential successfully, Kariko showcased firsthand how mRNA could be utilized to combat COVID-19, and finally her unrested effort was paid back. The mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was finally ready to be tested. In August 2021, BioNTech/Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine gained the approval from the Food and Drugs Administration (“Meet Dr. Kariko”). Dr. Kariko was identified with many awards including the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the Princess of Asturias Award, and the Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Biotechnology (“Meet Dr. Kariko”). She is now continuing to investigate and study a new therapeutic potential of mRNA usage for another vaccine (“Meet Dr. Kariko”). Katalin Kariko once said that she could produce any kind of vaccination with her mRNA project, and she is now proving with people that what she said is coherent, knowledgeable, and achievable. Powered by ambition and a passion that has transcended over the course of her career, Katalin Kariko believes that mRNA is the future.

            After the accomplishment of introducing the brand-new mRNA technology that has never been used in the medical history, Dr. Weissman has been proud of the COVID-19 vaccine invention as well as his colleague, Katalin, who has never given up. He once said: “It [Katalin’s project] really is exciting. It is limitless.” Although there was much trouble during the researching pathway of Dr. Katalin, she has never let that stop her, she always spends priceless effort whether it will work out or not. Katalin is actually a hero of human being during the pandemic which has taken away millions of people around the world.

Although the COVID-19 vaccine has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and safely used in most of the countries around the world since the year of 2020, many Americans are not educated about the vaccination very well, and they are not ready to get it, or never going to get it (CDC). Because of that, there are many conspiracies theories over the COVID-19 vaccine, the two most popular made by the public are:

_Can we trust the government to get COVID-19 vaccinated because they might control your life by injecting smart chips into your bodies?

_Is it worth to risk our health during global pandemic by not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, so that the government will not have chance to access to our personal life with any control technology?

            First of all, let’s discuss if we can trust the government to get COVID-19 vaccinated. Many people believes that the United State (US) government is trying to control their people by injecting a smart chip through the vaccine into your body for some political reasons. The US government is trying to help their people to overcome the global disaster, so that the country’s economy could open again after being closed due to high volume of COVID-19 patients throughout the US. According to the white house interview of President Biden, he once strongly stated: “This isn’t about politics, it’s about saving lives” (Combating COVID-19). Still, being positive with COVID-19 might not bother somebody much because a lot of people believe that the virus is not as viral as flu in the year of 1918 to1919 (History of 1918 Flu Pandemic). The importance of getting vaccinated is not about the politic concern, it is all about your health, and safety. If the US government inject reading chip into your body in order to control or sensor your activities that might affect their politic power, they would have done it for many years by several ways such as insert it into your body by mandatory vaccine since you had just been born, or secretly install control project in your house, cars, mailboxes, etc. At the present, none of scientist can prove that the conspiracy theory is true.

             Not only the United States is under such an overall painful war, but also every country around the world is trying to solve this alarming problem as soon as possible in order to recover the downgraded national, and international economy. It also one of the reasons that inflation is happening in the US. In accordance with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, they recommend people not to travel if you are not fully vaccinated. James Liang, co-founder and chairman of Trip.com group reported: “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant challenges to the global travel industry” (The New Normal?). Due to the elevated risk, and high volume of COVID-19 patient throughout the US, many countries have been rejected travelers, exportation, and importation with the United States of America. When it happens, the US could not trade with other countries, the American currency will decrease, cost of supplies will grow quickly. Towards the end, the consumers are affected the most. Furthermore, the US has no reason to control human’s life or protect their power during “the war.” Therefore, put your safety first because nobody can make action for your body except yourself. Your body, your choice, make a good decision to your one, and the only body.

              Correspondingly, many people believe that the government will not have chance to access to their bodies if they decide not to get the COVID-19 vaccine, is it worth it to risk your health? In the scientific view, Corona is one of the most threatening viruses because of its fastest killing capability. According to the UK Research and Innovation, COVID-19 is the quickest spreading virus with an ability of moving around and surviving in the atmosphere for as long as three hours or up to seventy-two hours in some living conditions (UKRI). At the beginning of the disaster, a lot of people including the US government believed that the virus would be eliminated when the freezing weather came. Until November 2019, when most of the states throughout the US was covered by the cold. As reported by Maggie Suggs who is an environmental scientist at the Appalachian State University acknowledged: “Climate is just one small part of the puzzle” (Is COVID-19 seasonal?). In fact, research showed that the number of COVID-19 deaths and patients was not decreased, otherwise, the number was getting higher and higher, the disaster alert has never been cool down (CDC). Until the year of 2022, there are more than three different variants of COVID-19 that is dangerously being multiplied day by day around the world (Zuraw). On the other hand, politic overall is something that you can never make change in today’s world, but the concern is a hasty statement to the US government while they are doing just like what other countries are practicing at the same time with the same situation. As a result, we have not known yet if the disease disappears someday, but the people around the world will not wait until the virus completely goes away, the best solution right now to maintain your safety is getting vaccinated as soon as possible.

            Several of COVID-19 patients reported that they have been suffering after their initial COVID-19 infection such as fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle and joint pain, neurological issues, and so on (Zuraw). Those symptoms called “long-covid” even though their test results might be negative to COVID-19. Natalie Lambert, an associate research professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine, once said: “It’s great if someone can get a positive test, but many people who have Covid simply will never have one, for a variety of different reasons” (Zuraw). Hence, the virus is still unstable until this moment no matter how hard scientists around the world are studying for months (Zuraw). It will sound unsatisfied to some people to accept the fact that COVID-19 might never go away, but it would be the best safeguard decision for yourself, your family, and everybody around you to receive the vaccine. Foremost, the United States of America is the first country in the world that successfully invented COVID-19 vaccine and provide it at zero cost to anybody that are getting COVID-19 vaccine within the US (CDC). A lot of countries are now requesting for help from the countries that produce Covid vaccine, you are one of the lucky people that are living the United States of America with a high standard medical service.

             Thus far, “when will the pandemic end?” is still a big question to many scientists around the world. The UK Health Security Agency recently described its view: “Early estimates of vaccine effectiveness (VE) against symptomatic infection find a significantly lower VE [against] Omicron infection compared to Delta infection. Nevertheless, a moderate to high [VE] of 70 to 75% is seen in the early period after a booster dose.” Over the years since COVID-19 has changed the human being lifestyle, the conspiracy theories over the government’s sensation and smart reading chip still remains unproved. However, there is still much more to learn, it will never be too late to get yourself protected.

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