In the year of 2020, the world was in an unprecedented time. COVID-19 was on the rise, jobs were lost and the entire world shut down. When things started opening back up, many individuals took precautions in attempts to go back to a “normal” lifestyle, even though there was a high level of uncertainty.

When the vaccine came out, people filled the clinics in an attempt to get vaccinations and stay safe. The vaccine helped reopen the world. Not everyone is comfortable with getting a vaccine without knowing all of the information about it first. 

Luckily for us, Young Invincibles and their campaign Generation Vaxxed is here to help everyone learn about all types of vaccines, and feel a little more comfortable in getting vaccinated.  

Raqueal Logan, the Illinois outreach coordinator for Generation Vaxxed, said that her main goal is to encourage everyone, especially young adults, to get vaccinated. She also hoped that she can help educate everyone properly about COVID-19 vaccinations.

“I know a lot of the time, we have so much information that’s false or not true, or things just posted on social media,” Logan said. “So we don’t know who to really believe. So Generation Vaxxed is pretty much just like trying to be a reliable resource to the community.”

The spread of misinformation can be very relative to who decides to get the vaccine and who doesn’t. 

According to Logan, the places that have the lowest vaccination rates are college towns and Black/Brown communities. 

Why? Because these areas often don’t have a factual source to give them information. 

When it comes to getting the facts, Logan and her team go the extra mile. By getting their information for the CDC and fact checking, Generation Vaxxed is able to ensure that they are a safe and honest nonprofit organization. 

Logan says that it is extremely important to get the COVID-19 vaccine. With all the new variants coming out, Logan says that it’s actually “getting dangerous again.”

“I think it’s very important, especially since a lot of the time, we’ll see COVID rates go down, or we’ll see mask mandates be lifted and we think, ‘oh, let’s go out and party and take our masks off,’” Logan said. “…If you’re really watching the news, or still paying attention, you know you still need to get vaccinated, you still need to get your flu shots and wear your mask and even social distance as much as you can.”

Considering that many of the lower vaccination rates are in college towns, Logan is planning on doing a college tour, where she and her team travel to different colleges and universities to help spread information about Generation Vaxxed. 

During these college tours, she’s planning to come to Eastern in February.

As an Eastern alum, she expresses excitement at not only being able to spread the campaign’s message to the school, but being able to reminisce in a few of her favorite places as well.  

“I love 7th St. Underground,” Logan said. “I love the bowling alley there too. I had some good times at the bowling alley.”

Overall, Logan says that she’s proud of all the work she has done for the community, and is very determined to help make an impact for as many people as she can. 

For more information about Young Invincibles or Generation Vaxxed, visit its website at https://younginvincibles.org/ or check out it’s Instagram @younginvincibles. 

Adriana Hernandez-Santana can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].