In nations all across the world, the coronavirus is a distant thought. People in New Zealand are able to enjoy sports games, concerts, and many outdoor events. Numerous countries in Oceania and Asia no longer have mask policies. It seems as if there was never any trace of the virus at all.

The United States, however, tells a different story. The coronavirus is more rampant now, in January, than ever before, with about 150,000 to 250,000 new cases everyday. The US has surpassed every other country in the world for most COVID cases by about 16 million.

Amid the depressing economic and social effects of COVID, a new solution blooms for not only the nation, but the world. Many drug organizations and medical institutions worked tirelessly and quickly to produce a COVID-19 vaccine, and Pfizer finally released the first vaccine in December 2020. This vaccine has broken a world record for being the fastest produced vaccine. Shortly after, Moderna released their own coronavirus vaccine and, along with Pfizer, has been widely distributed around the world.

The distribution of the vaccines have been effective, with about 6% of the American population being injected with one dose of the vaccine by the end of January. The CDC is giving out dosages of the vaccine in phases, meaning the sooner the phase, the higher the priority it is for one to get the vaccine. Phase 1a consists of healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents. Phase 1b consists of any essential workers and people over the age of 65.

Many people in the Pine Crest Community either know of, or have a relative who is vaccinated.

“My dad got his vaccine in the first week. I was really excited for him to get it, because it’s a step in the right direction for America.” William Burke ‘22 said, “I think that just demonstrates how the country has really grown and made a lot of progress in counteracting the forces of this pandemic.”

President Biden predicts that 600 million citizens will be vaccinated by this summer. As more quantities become available, the easier it will be for the US to finally lower its incomprehensible amount of cases. Let’s keep our fingers crossed as a school and a nation and stick together (while social-distancing) through this pandemic.

Sources:

https://19thnews.org/2020/12/health-care-workers-find-hope-in-covid-19-vaccines-but-they-fear-the-worst-is-yet-to-come/

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations.html

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/28/960901166/how-is-the-covid-19-vaccination-campaign-going-in-your-state

https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2021-01-29/how-covid-vaccines-were-developed-in-record-time/13096682