After almost a year of living in a pandemic… are we beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel? Currently, three vaccines are authorized and recommended to prevent COVID-19: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen.

 Rocky Mount Academy was lucky enough to be able to hold a clinic at the school for the faculty to get vaccinated if they chose to. After months of teaching and working on campus among hundreds of children, even with the best safety precautions, the staff felt a sigh of relief as they received their first shot. Working among children for 8 hours a day is a big task, especially trying to be heard while wearing a mask. However, the teachers and students of RMA are thankful to be back in school to teach and learn in person. 

On Friday, February 26, the Nash County Health Department set up in the Rocky Mount Academy gym at 8:30 am with a table for registration and a table for administering the Moderna vaccine. Two nurses came, and Mrs. Epps, our school nurse, made a schedule ahead of time for 7 people every 15 minutes. She also printed the registration forms the day before and handed them out to make it easier. Forty-six faculty and staff members were vaccinated, and after they received the vaccination, they had to be observed for 15 minutes to be sure they did not have a reaction. After the nurses had completed the clinic, over 75% of the staff had been vaccinated! Thank you Mrs. Epps for helping everything run so smoothly!

 If you are able to choose which vaccine you take, here are some things you should consider for each: 

Pfizer-BioNTech: 

1. Number of shots: 2 shots, 21 days apart
2. Recommended for people aged 16 and older
3. Based on evidence from clinical trials, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 95% effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 illness in people without evidence of previous infection.

Moderna:

1. Number of shots: 2 shots, one month (28 days) apart
2. Recommended for people aged 18 years and older
3. Based on evidence from clinical trials, the Moderna vaccine was 94.1% effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 illness in people who received two doses who had no evidence of being previously infected.

Johnson & Johnson:

1. Number of shots: 1 shot
2. Recommended for people aged 18 years and older
3. The J&J/Janssen vaccine was 66.3% effective in clinical trials (efficacy) at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 illness in people who had no evidence of prior infection 2 weeks after receiving the vaccine. People had the most protection 2 weeks after getting vaccinated.