During the peak of the pandemic, the growing issue of COVID-19 and its spread became much more prominent: there were 32.8 million cases in the US, and over 582,000 individuals died from the disease. US citizens needed change and assistance as soon as possible, so the COVID-19 vaccine rolled out to help save the day. 

Although originally only available to adults, on April 15th, the vaccine was made available to anyone 16 and up. The vaccine has had incredible results so far: the Pfizer vaccine – a two-dose shot – is 95 percent successful in preventing disease, the Moderna vaccine – another two-dose vaccine – is 94 percent successful in preventing disease, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – a one-dose shot – is 72 percent successful in preventing disease; however, due to recent health issues that emerged from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine has dropped by 86 percent. Starting on Thursday, May 13th, California will also begin to offer the Pfizer vaccine to 12-15-year-olds. 

Currently, in the US, over 45 percent of the population has at least one dose of the vaccine, while over 35 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. When President Joe Biden stepped into office, he had the goal of vaccinating 100 million Americans in his first 100 days of office. Biden was able to meet this goal and double it. 85% of senior citizens have received their first shot, and 70 percent of seniors are fully vaccinated. This number has tremendously grown since January, where less than two percent of adults and less than one percent of senior citizens were fully vaccinated. Biden has the goal for at least 70% of adults in the US to have at least one dose of the vaccine by July 4th. 

As COVID-19 cases in the US, especially in California, begin to rapidly decline, the number of people choosing to receive their vaccinations is skyrocketing. It’s incredible to witness the effect that these vaccinations have had on our society in such a short period of time, and we all cannot wait to see what further effects it has.