Covid-Comeback:

It is no secret that Alliance High School has been relaxing on its mandates as the school year progresses. As days move on, wearing a mask has become more of a burden than a safety precaution, and more and more students are attending school maskless. The coronavirus pandemic has been getting less media attention, but this does not mean that the pandemic is any less real. People are still dying from COVID every day, and the students at AHS need to continue to be cautious and considerate as we get through this trying time. 

At the beginning of the school year, the number of students wearing masks was slim, but this changed when there were consequences to not wearing a mask. People were quarantined if they were sitting next to someone who wasn’t wearing a mask. When the number of people quarantined started affecting the sports seasons, students and teachers started wearing masks- not to protect themselves or others -but to protect their school year. Students were separated due to who was wearing a mask and who wasn’t. These rules held steady for a while, but AHS has become lazy in enforcing these rules. Due to this, many students are beginning to think that the pandemic is over, but this is just simply not the case. 

At the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 was getting national media coverage, and it still is, but the introduction and access to vaccines are leading people to believe that COVID is no longer deadly. The truth is that the vaccine protects the person who has received it, not the people around them. According to healthline.com, “None of the vaccines are 100 percent effective at preventing infections. So even if people don’t get very sick with COVID-19, they may still contract an infection and can potentially transmit the virus to others.” So, the person who has the vaccine can still carry and transmit the virus to other people. The students of AHS need to know that COVID is still very real and can still affect everybody. 

As summer is nearing, many people are getting their hopes up for a fun, COVID-free summer, but this summer will not go without challenges. Fortunately, nationwide distributions of different vaccines such as the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen have made a safer summer possible. Many people in Box Butte county are doing their part to keep the community safe by getting this vaccine. Now, young adults at the age of 16 and older are eligible to get the vaccine, so the possibility of a safe summer is increasing every day. Students still need to remember that the virus can still be transmitted, even if you are vaccinated, so social distancing and the wearing of masks are encouraged. 

COVID is still a very real and very dangerous virus, the students at AHS should be aware of the damage they could carry to other people and even themselves. As the end of the school year is approaching, we need to continue to be cautious of the virus so we can have a safe and fun summer break.