Should I Consider the COVID Vaccine?

The COVID-19 pandemic affected everyone in early 2020, when social distancing was one of the only tools available to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Contracting COVID-19 can lead to severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

With the aid of cutting-edge medical research, FDA-approved COVID vaccines are now available in the United States for patients age 6 months and up. Boosters are recommended for children and adults, and an additional booster is now suggested if you’re over age 50 or have other significant COVID-related health concerns.

The family medicine team at Living Water Community Health and Wellness Clinic, aka Living Water Clinic, in Porterville, Lindsay, and Visalia, California, have worked with our community since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to keep our patients safe and healthy.

Dr. Erick Madrigal and the urgent care and primary care providers at Living Water Clinic suggest that our patients strongly consider getting vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Vaccination is free, and it has significant protection benefits. Contracting COVID-19 can seriously harm your long-term health, so it’s important to protect yourself and loved ones from contracting this illness.

The risks of contracting COVID-19

COVID-19 is a respiratory infection that spreads between people via respiratory droplets and aerosols. You can be infected with COVID-19 and not realize it. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people without symptoms can infect others with this disease.

If you develop a severe case of COVID-19, you could be faced with both acute and long-term health problems. Some COVID-19 patients need to be hospitalized, and COVID-19 can result in death for some patients, especially those with other relevant health risks.

Common COVID-19 symptoms — like shortness of breath or loss of your senses of taste or smell — can also continue for weeks and months following a COVID-19 infection. This condition, known as long COVID, is something researchers are still learning more about, and it continues to affect many people who’ve contracted and recovered from COVID-19.

The benefits of COVID-19 vaccination

You can significantly reduce your risk of severe illness, hospitalization, death, and long COVID by getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Talk to the family medicine doctors at Living Water Clinic about the best type of COVID-19 vaccine for you and your loved ones of all ages.

COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots are free, even if you don’t have insurance, so you don’t need to worry about costs. The process of getting vaccinated is also quick and easy. Some people experience uncomfortable reactions for a few hours after getting a COVID shot, but serious complications or problems are very rare.

Vaccination is a safe and effective preventive medicine treatment. False information about COVID-19 vaccination risk sometimes appears on social media, and you might have concerns about COVID-19 vaccine safety. If so, talk to your primary care doctor at Living Water Clinic about your concerns. We’re here to keep you and your family members healthy.

You can schedule a vaccination appointment by calling one of the Living Water Clinic locations today or booking online with our easy-to-use scheduling tool. You can also take advantage of our walk-in clinic.