As of January 2021, two COVID-19 Vaccines have been authorized by the FDA with distribution beginning recently. Both vaccines are proven to successfully create immunity towards the virus, however, the process hasn’t been without complications. A common misconception is that the vaccine acts as a ‘save all’ cure, but, the reality of the vaccine’s function is far more complex. 

            To understand how the vaccine works, one must first understand how bodies combat illnesses. When a virus such as COVID-19 enters the body, it slowly multiplies and then attacks, infecting the body with the illness. Should the victim be in good health, after a certain amount of time, the immune system will eventually create enough germ fighting tools to defeat the infection. Following the infection, the victim’s immune system retains a small number of T-lymphocytes or memory cells that remember how to protect the body against disease. When the same virus is detected again, the body now knows how to defeat it, and immediately kills off the virus before it turns into a full-scale infection, granting an immunity to the virus. Vaccines allow us to retain this immunity without ever having received the illness. The vaccine teaches cells to create a protein that triggers an immune response that should the virus enter the system, it could be defeated. .

            The emergence of the Covid-19 vaccine results in new problems. For instance, the main problems with the vaccines surround logistics of handling and storing them. Both vaccines require cold storage, however, the Pfizer vaccine requires ultra-cold storage in special freezers that aren’t always accessible in rural areas. Additionally, both vaccines have seen severe allergic reactions, and studies have only just begun to determine why life threatening allergic reactions were occurring. Other problems such as distribution plans and the purchase of vaccines have also arisen. With the transfer of power, the Trump administration has been forced to reverse course and begin implementing the Biden administration’s plan which causes unnecessary delay. Organizations have also pointed out how many of the richer countries have rapidly purchased the vaccine in obscene amounts, in some cases, enough to vaccinate their population three times over. This could possibly deprive billions of people in poorer areas. 

            So contrary to the desired belief, the COVID vaccine, as of now, does not look like save-all solution we are all hoping for.