My heart was pounding with apprehension as I was led down the hallway towards the unoccupied dorm room which would be my home for the next ten days. To me, it might as well have been a death march: my head was still pounding and my skin still feverish, and the knowledge of my positive covid-19 test was still sinking in. 

It made no sense: since returning to my boarding school in New York from my home in South Korea in the fall, I had followed mask and social distancing mandates to the letter. The only times I had even removed my mask was when I was eating in my room and during swimming practice. Yet I had still managed to test positive for the virus that was currently ravaging the world. Alone, feverish, and scared,  I still had to attend online classes during my 10-day quarantine. Not only was I not given leeway because of my illness, all the materials that I needed to study were still back in my old dorm. If that wasn’t bad enough, the room that was my home for the quarantine period was filthy: with furniture coated in dust and the bodies of dead flies littering the floor and window sills. It was a miserable experience, but I was lucky: my fever went down about two days into quarantine, and I emerged from my confinement healthy. I survived covid. Many people haven’t. Even now, so many are still dying even when we have a way to prevent it.  

After that horrible ordeal, I was beyond relieved to have a chance to take the pfizer vaccine in the spring. That relief didn’t last however: when I got my second dose, it almost felt like I had covid all over again, with fever, chills, and a pounding headache. It was right before I was scheduled to fly back to Korea from New York, and I was scared and stressed. What was the point of getting the vaccine if it just made me feel worse. For a brief moment, I almost regretted taking the vaccine. But that all changed when my symptoms subsided, and when I finally saw the reality of life in my home country.   

Now, I feel angry when I see the news from the US: pictures and videos of people refusing to get vaccinated, claiming that it is against their freedoms. As the new, more contagious delta variant continues to spread, almost half of the US population is still unvaccinated according to CNN. They don’t understand how lucky they are. In the US, anyone can get a vaccine. In my home country of Korea, vaccines for ordinary people are scarce, and all around me, people are scared and desperate. In Korea, the application process to get vaccination is long and tedious, and not even a guarantee as there is so little supply. Even with masks and social distance guidelines still in place, people in Korea are still getting sick and dying from Covid, with cases hitting record numbers as the vaccine rollout grinds to a halt. People in the US simply don’t understand what people in other countries would do just for a vaccine. They are taking for granted a life saving gift, one that so many people around the world don’t have access to, even in so-called “developed” countries. 

I’ve always loved returning to the US every September to learn and see my friends, but now I’m worried that the delta variant, spreading unchecked, will continue to ravage both countries that I love. Mild discomfort from a vaccine is worth making yourself and your loved ones safer. According to Public Health England COVID-19 vaccinations can reduce the risk of death by 70 to 80% in just one dose and 95-99% in two doses. While the vaccination rate in New York State is fairly high, around 60%, there are still people who are choosing not to get vaccinated. On behalf of a state and country that I love, and on behalf of people in my home country, I hope that less people will take for granted the life-saving vaccines that are freely available to them. With so many people worldwide desperate for vaccines, do not overlook how lucky you are, and please make the decision to protect yourself and others.