Vaccines: What to Expect in the Coming Months

Emily Rose, Managing Editor|April 27, 2021

The COVID vaccine is created using mRNA.

America’s vaccine rollout is going strong. As of April 19, 2021, President Joe Biden announced that all Americans aged 16 and older are eligible to get vaccinated. With more new information every day, there are many questions as to what the facts are regarding each vaccine. Here’s some updates and what to expect as summer approaches.

The Present

As of April 26, 28.9% of Americans are fully vaccinated and 42.5% have received one shot. New Jersey has vaccinated 34% of their population. Half of the state has one dose. Though Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine is still on hold, Pfizer and Moderna are still going strong. Pfizer has distributed 121,674,501 vaccines and Moderna has distributed 100,830,533. The administration ebbs and flows over time. Currently dosage rates are going down, but if they follow the pattern we will see a rise again in a few days.

The Future

According to NPR, an estimate of 70-85% of the population needs to be immune in order for the spread to stop. If everything goes according to plan, the CDC estimates that America could reach that goal by August 26. As for New Jersey, the herd immunity date estimate is July 29. All in all, projections for the future seem consistent. The plan is to get as many people vaccinated as possible in the least amount of time. Moderna is working overseas to get more vaccines to the United Kingdom. Pfizer is working with the FDA to get their vaccine approved for 12-15 year olds.

From a more local standpoint, colleges in the area are considering how to handle vaccinations for the 2021-2022 school year. CNBC reports that Rutgers University, Cornell University, Duke University, Brown, Northeastern University, University of Notre Dame, Syracuse University, Ithaca College, Nova Southeastern University, Roger Williams University, Fort Lewis College, and St. Edward’s University are requiring students to be vaccinated by the time they attend school in the fall.

Things are looking up in the world of medicine. Hopefully this means that the transition to a post-COVID world will be smooth.