Emma Caward is one of the 130 De Anza College students out of 171 who said they would get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Her father suffers from Parkinson’s disease and his brain surgery was postponed due to the pandemic, which is why she said she wants people to get vaccinated as quickly as possible.

“The fact that he is unable to go get this procedure because of COVID makes me so angry,” said Caward, a 22-year-old English major. “And the fact that there are some people who say that they don’t think COVID’s a big deal, or they don’t really feel like getting the vaccine … makes me so upset.”

Most students answered yes, but some were hesitant. Nicholas Ho said he voted “maybe” because the speedy vaccine production might make it ineffective against the new COVID-19 strains.

“If it’s continuing to mutate, then it’s going to be a little bit hard to exactly create a vaccine,” said Ho, 20, biology major. “[It] might be mutating to the point where the vaccine is completely worthless.”

Ho also raised concerns about taking two doses. There is still a risk of getting COVID-19 the 21 days before the second dose and many believe they are protected after the first.

“If they take the first dose, they’re not exactly going to be like, ‘Oh, let me still stay [cautious] for 21 more days,’” Ho said. “No, they’re going to feel like, ‘Oh, I’m more immune to COVID, so I can do whatever I want.’”

In response to fears that the vaccine was rushed, Caward cites immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Sydnee McElroy in family medicine, who say the vaccine went under the same careful testing as other vaccines.

“When we’re normally creating vaccines, it takes way longer because they don’t have enough money or resources or public desire,” Caward said. “Due to public pressure, there was enough funding [this time], and we were able to create the vaccine faster than they’ve done in the past.”

Despite differing views, students agree that they want to return to normalcy. Henry Choy, who answered yes, said this was one of his goals in taking the vaccine.

“It’s just the next step to moving on to normalizing our life again, even if we still need to wear masks to be safe, we could worry less and be less anxious,” said Choy, a 24-year-old computer science major. “It’s just doing my part.”

Caward added that able people should take the vaccine so that the world can recover from the pandemic.

“So, anybody out there who is still unsure about getting it, what’s the worst that can happen? Maybe that is a bad suggestion, but really, you’ll probably be fine,” Caward said. “You’ll end up saving somebody’s life.”