Toriano Porter plays many roles in the Kansas City community. As a writer for The Kansas City Star he has reported on a broad range of topics, from KC schools and sports to local law enforcement and crime. He has called Kansas City home since 2007 and it is where he and his wife raised their kids. He’s also on the board of directors of Communities Creating Opportunity.
Three months ago he wrote an article describing his internal struggle on whether to get the COVID vaccine. After interviewing him ourselves, we hoped to help tell his story.
Toriano is a careful man. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic he made a point to wear a mask in public spaces and wash his hands frequently. That said, when the Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines all received emergency approval he was hesitant.
While Toriano is a strong advocate for believing in science, data, and following recommended best practices, there were some uncertainties when the vaccines first became available, but most importantly he felt very uncomfortable injecting himself with something foreign to his body. For him, it wasn’t an easy decision. In the meantime, he decided to wait and see if new data would come out on the vaccines.
As the weeks passed and more people around the U.S. got vaccinated, there weren’t thousands dropping dead or bedridden due to side-effects or poor reactions to the vaccine. In fact, more data was released on how the vaccine was helping reduce the spread of the virus. Yet, he was still concerned about putting something in his body. So, he waited a while longer.
It wasn’t until the CDC relaxed its mask guidelines for vaccinated people that things changed. Suddenly, public spaces would likely have far fewer people wearing masks, but little to no way to know whether those people were really vaccinated. Toriano had to ask himself if he really trusted the people around him to be honest about their vaccination. His answer: no. He then asked himself which he would prefer, the vaccine or the virus? Again, Toriano had his fair share of internal strife, but he was confident that the vaccine would be better than the virus.
He scheduled his appointment, got his shot, and came back a couple weeks later to get his second. In our interview he said he hardly felt any side-effects the days after each shot. Today, Toriano is a strong advocate for COVID-19 vaccinations -- he understands being hesitant and concerned, however, he believes that if you look to the data you will find the right answer.
Davis Miller is CCO’s 2021 summer intern. He studies at Loyola University - Chicago.