As De Anza College continues to consider safety concerns in their campus reopening plan, health faculty encouraged students to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Mary Sullivan, Director of Health Education and Wellness at De Anza, got fully vaccinated and told students to do the same.

“Students should get vaccinated as soon as possible before going back to school in person,” Sullivan said.

She added that now that she is vaccinated, she feels safer when going out and meeting others because the vaccine stops the spread.

Jason Bram agreed that getting the vaccine keeps him and people around him healthy and safe.

“Getting the vaccine is not a political issue but a science issue,” said Bram, the chair of the Biology Department. “People should listen to the health experts (and) get the vaccine.”

He said that people should get the vaccine if they care about their health.

“If they do not want to take their vaccine, it means that they do not want to be protected,” he added.

Susan Thomas, a psychology professor, said the issues with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine made people wary of getting vaccinated. But she added that people should still get the vaccine to protect those who cannot.

“You want to get vaccinated,” Thomas said. “As the assurance that you are not exposing something to people in the population who cannot get the vaccines due to extenuating circumstances.”

When enough people receive the vaccine, the population will achieve herd immunity, which will stifle the spread.

“Being vaccinated is not 100% percent about you,” Thomas added. “It is a humanity way to protect yourself and others.”

Thomas, Bram and Sullivan all said that students should receive at least their first dose of the vaccine before coming back to campus.

Students can book an appointment here.