As COVID-19 became a part of our lives, teachers and students returned to school. A few months before school is almost over, teachers and EPISD staff were asked if they would like to get their vaccines. Many teachers and staff hesitated to get their shots, but yet still remembered about their students. All teachers thought about the kids, and how much they liked teaching and being there for the students.

Even though people are still testing the vaccine to see if it works and if it helps be immune to the virus, who knows what other effects or symptoms it might have. As we walk through and ask some of the teachers what they think and feel about the COVID vaccine, we learned how they felt about staff getting their vaccines and keeping their students safe.

Vanessa Pantoja, a history, psychology, and sociology teacher at Bowie High School, gave us her opinion about staff getting their COVID vaccines.

“I was worried about the vaccine at first, because I thought it was going to be rushed, but I did some research and now think it’s a good thing,” Mrs. Pantoja said.

Pantoja tells us how she thinks the vaccines is now safe and how she used her research to give us more information about it. “I think the vaccine is safe because the technology used to make the vaccine existed since the 2000s. Now, there is a chance to use it,” she said.

Although many people are torn on the vaccine, Pantoja is a proponent. “I saw on the news that about 70 percent elderly and those at risk have been vaccinated. So now is a good time for everyone else to get it,” she said.

Still, Pantoja says more research needs to be done. Many people don’t know how long they will have symptoms for, and they want to know how long it will last because some people work around kids and they don’t want to get the kids sick. “I think there should be more tests about lasting effects,” Pantoja said.

Being a teacher and having to go to school and teach, Mrs. Pantoja thought about her kids’ safety and decided to take measures to protect them. “I have already been fully vaccinated,” she said.