The Berlin Area School District provided teachers with the opportunity to get their COVID-19 vaccination on March 19 at the Armory in Berlin. They would receive their vaccine in hopes of limiting any further spread of the virus. There were other locations teachers could seek out on their own, such as the Ripon Walgreens and UW-Oshkosh. 

For Spanish teacher Jody Ziemann, getting the vaccine was a choice made to contribute to leading the world back to normalcy. 

“I believe it is an important way of getting past this pandemic and bringing the ‘new normal’ to our lives. I want to be able to spend time with family and friends without worry, and I definitely want to be able to travel safely again,” Ziemann said.

Ziemann also wanted to simply ease her mind about what the possibilities of getting COVID-19 again might have in her and others lives. Getting the vaccine was her way of doing so.

“I chose to get the vaccine to protect myself as well as to open up my world a little bit, since having been so very careful has been part of my life for so long now,” Ziemann said.

As for science teacher Dave Reich, he has a very similar view on why the COVID-19 vaccine could be seen as a necessity to both protect the uninfected and move society past the pandemic. 

“I got the vaccine because I feel that until enough of us get sick with COVID-19 or get vaccinated, the country and state will not feel confident enough to move things back towards normal life,” Reich said.

Due to Reich’s many years of teaching related topics about viruses and diseases, he understands how vaccinations have been proven beneficial to human life. 

“Vaccines have lengthened human lifespan. Infectious diseases used to be among society’s biggest causes of death. With vaccinations, we have eliminated some diseases and are able to better control other diseases,” Reich said.

Earlier in the school year math teacher Shawn Erb was diagnosed with breast cancer and because of this her immune system is weakened. She was still able to safely receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

“There were not any special precautions I needed to take for the vaccine. I just have to be careful with my immune system because I am considered immunocompromised,” Erb said.

Chemistry teacher Nick Kvam voices his perspective on the importance and the possibly life changing effects the vaccine could have on communities.

“I got the vaccine to protect my family, the students and staff at BHS, and my community. I also got the vaccine because I want life to return to normal, and the fastest way for that to happen is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible,”  Kvam said. “It is truly amazing that the scientific community has developed multiple vaccines in such a short amount of time.”

Even though Kvam is vaccinated, his wife is not. They are awaiting a new addition to their family, and with limited research on such a new vaccine the couple decided it was best to wait.

“My wife has not been vaccinated yet. She is pregnant and we are waiting for more data about the risks associated with getting the vaccine while pregnant,” Kvam said.