The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield

The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield

The student news site of Pleasant Valley High School

Spartan Shield

Navigating back to normalcy: The potentials of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine

Morgan+Sorenson%2C+a+PV+high+school+senior%2C+holding+her+COVID+vaccine+card.+
Olivia Reddish
Morgan Sorenson, a PV high school senior, holding her COVID vaccine card.

The Johnson and Jonhson vaccine is planned to be available to the U.S. public by the end of May. This vaccine has been developed to be more effective for the younger generation  and people with compromised immune systems.

The vaccine is produced through mRNA and spike proteins. It uses adenoviruses, common viruses that cause illnesses, to communicate with the cell and cause the cell to create antibodies for protection against the COVID-19 disease. This production method has been used in other vaccines, like Ebola, and has proven effective and safe with almost two hundred thousand people vaccinated with this type of vaccine and with no complications.

This new vaccine could prove beneficial to the younger population and people with compromised immune systems due to the low risk associated with the vaccine. Many highschoolers have gotten vaccinated with other shots, but the Johnson and Johnson vaccine could become a primary vaccine in the younger generation. 

Darren Erickson, the PV high school principal, explained his take on receiving the Johnson and Johnson vaccine when it becomes available. “I do think that the more people in our communities that we can get vaccinated will correlate with an overall reduction in cases,” Erickson said. 

The communities having a reduction in cases will be a step towards getting back to a normal everyday life. Erickson puts in his 2 cents on how the community getting vaccinated will affect the nation. “This in turn should have an impact in reducing cases nationwide and making everyone physically and mentally safer to begin to reacclimate to ‘normal’ living” Erickson said.

The vaccine is being tested in trials among 12 to 18 year-olds. If trials go according to plan, the Johnson and Johnson vaccine could be a primary vaccine for high schoolers. Future trials are planned to be tested with babies as young as one-year-olds.

Sophomore Ike Swanson shared what he would do if the Johnson and Johnson vaccine was available. “If offered to me I would take the vaccine, because it would get everyone back to everyday life and I could visit my grandparents that I haven’t seen in a while,” Swanson stated. Highschoolers getting vaccinated is a step towards bringing life back to a certain version of normal and the Johnson and Johnson vaccine is trying to reach this goal. 

The Johnson and Johnson vaccine is being tested in the younger population and is a step towards herd immunity of the country. Many high school students have not been able to see relatives and hope to get back to a normal life. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine could be the vaccine that gets the country a step closer to the herd immunity necessary to return to normal.

View Comments (2)
Donate to Spartan Shield
$480
$1000
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, Iowa. Your contribution will allow us to purchase needed equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
About the Contributor
Alex Clemons, Sports Editor
Alex Clemons is a senior and the Sports Editor for the Spartan Shield. Other than his duties as the Sports Editor, he loves participating in and watching Pleasant Valley’s extracurricular activities. He is a varsity baseball player and was a varsity wrestler for three years. He is a member of the National Honor Society and has also received the Mississippi Athletic Conference All-Academic team for baseball and wrestling. His hobbies include fishing, collecting baseball cards and spending time with friends and family. He currently works at Subway making fresh sandwiches for the community. He is going to college at Coe where he will be exploring the field of medicine and playing baseball. Alex is ecstatic to be a part of the Spartan Shield and planning to have a successful and exciting final semester of school.
Donate to Spartan Shield
$480
$1000
Contributed
Our Goal

Comments (2)

All Spartan Shield Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • C

    Carson AlbrechtApr 16, 2021 at 9:17 am

    I think it’s amazing the amount of technology we have today.

    Reply
  • C

    Carson AlbrechtMar 23, 2021 at 11:35 am

    Hopefully everyone eventually will be able to get the Vaccine that way it makes everyone safer.

    Reply
Activate Search
Navigating back to normalcy: The potentials of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine