I don't know about you but it took me forever to qualify and then manage to snag an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine. It seemed like I was on every list in the city and county and still couldn't get a shot. When I finally did I heaved a sigh of relief but for some reason there are a pretty decent number of people in El Paso who aren't that excited about getting the vaccine. El Paso Fire Chief Mario D’Agostino told a local news station that up to 20% of El Pasoans who made an appointment for a vaccine aren't showing up for their appointment.

City and County officials say people might be worried about getting a vaccine because of the recent news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Agency have put a pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The pause was put in place after 6 women were reported to have developed blood clots within a couple of weeks of getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. It's not known if the vaccine caused the women to develop the blood clots but US health authorities decided to play it safe and hold off on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for the time being.

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Look, we know this is scary. The whole thing is scary. The coronavirus, the pandemic, the shutdowns and reduced capacities at businesses, all the stuff that we've been going through for a year is nothing short of a horror movie, but if we ever want to get out of it we are all going to have to work together. If we can't get to herd immunity we are still going to be seeing flare-ups of infections and deaths.

City and County officials say the news about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine shouldn't scare you because the vaccine has not been deemed unsafe, it is just being investigated. Over 7 million people have taken the vaccine with only the 6 reported incidents. Other incidents might be reported but if you take birth control pills you should read the warnings on them. There is a much higher incidence of problems with a standard birth control pill as with any of the COVID vaccines being used right now. Get more information about the City and County's vaccine program by clicking here, and if you need to get your second vaccine and haven't yet been contacted, call 915-212- 6843.

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

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