Science changes the mind of once anti-COVID vaccine woman

A Yuma resident who was once against vaccines and medicine is now advocating for the COVID vaccine

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - A daily topic worldwide is the COVID vaccine. Should you get it? Shouldn't you get it? One Yuma resident says science convinced her to get the vaccine as soon as possible.

Like most Yuma residents, Leslie Bellah has been concerned about Coronavirus since it began. She has been staying home and doing what she can to stay virus-free. Now that the vaccine is ready and available to certain at-risk groups, she has been hesitant to get it.

Bellah does not believe in taking a lot of medicine, and her beliefs about vaccines are similar as she has heard of adverse reactions. Seeing the COVID vaccine come out in under a year didn't sit well with her as most vaccines take years to develop, according to historyofvaccines.org, a publication by The College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

So what changed her mind? A scientist friend of Bellah's who has been working on the vaccine as soon as COVID began. He told Bellah that the risk of not taking the vaccine is higher than taking the vaccine. After sorting out the pros and cons of the COVID vaccine vs. the virus itself, Bellah called her doctor's office to request an appointment to get the vaccine. She is in a high-risk category that is in the next phase of vaccine distribution for the state.

She is ready to get the vaccine as soon as her doctor calls her to schedule, possibly as soon as mid-January.

For more on Bellah's story and what made her a COVID vaccine believer, tune in to the Thursday Early Edition starting at 4 p.m. MST/5 p.m. PST.