Sophia Mittman
Staff Writer
The COVID-19 vaccination rollout increased drastically over the past few months in the U.S. As of April 20, 2021, approximately 25.7% of Americans were fully vaccinated. This implies they were given either both shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or the single dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. President Joe Biden also announced that on April 19, 2021, all Americans over the age of sixteen were eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. On May 10, 2021, the FDA approved that children ages 12-15 were eligible for a Pfizer vaccine. On May 12, 2021, CDC officials met to discuss the vaccine for this age group.
President Biden stated that he wished for 100 million shots to be administered during his first 100 days as President; in order to achieve this goal, roughly 1.5 million shots needed to be given each day. Biden’s 100 million goal was hit on Day 54 and then he aimed for 200 million. This goal passed as well, all before Day 100. Since April 2021, the rates of U.S citizens receiving a vaccine increased to a great extent from 1.7 million doses being given per day to 2.3 million doses each day. Pennsylvania, specifically, has also been doing a great job distributing its supplies of vaccines; approximately 8.6 million had been administered by May 1. By the time this article goes to print, it is likely that everyone who wanted a vaccine would have been able to get one.
A plethora of online sites are now allowing Americans to book vaccine appointments. At the start of the vaccine rollout, states had many restrictions on those eligible for the vaccine. As time passed, however, those restrictions were slowly pulled back, allowing for all Americans over the age of 16 to get a vaccine. This was followed by all over the age of 12. Countless people were hoping that the vaccine rollout would increase so that they could move on with their lives. Indoor restaurants began accepting more people to dine once many had been vaccinated. Then mask mandates began to be lifted in many locations, and public schools began planning regular in-class teaching for September. (Many private schools, like Barrack, had been conducting hybrid teaching all year, and by the spring had transitioned to an in-class model.) As of mid-May, the percentage of Americans in the U.S given their initial vaccine dose was about 48% (more than 158 million), and these numbers are increasing daily. With a population of 332 million people and more than 124 million being fully vaccinated as of May 18th, it is impressive how rapidly these rates increased. COVID-19 impacted peoples’ lives significantly, but it is shocking to see how quickly our lives are becoming normal again.