If 2020 was the year of the COVID pandemic, Zoom meetings, and online learning, 2021 could be remembered as the year we eventually return to a semblance of normality, thanks to a number of safe and effective COVID vaccines which were formulated, tested, and put on the market at record speed.
The logistics of administering the vaccine to hundreds of millions of U.S. residents is complicated. The initial rollout of the vaccine has not gone smoothly, and while the number of Americans who say they will definitely get inoculated has increased, there still exists a number of people who are hesitant (including some healthcare workers).
“I think everyone has concerns about the vaccine. But I have read the science on how it works and feel confident about it," California mom Cheryl Rosenberg told Mom.com. "The biggest plus is the lessening of the constant anxiety about contracting COVID and keeping my kids safe.”
Jamie Lentzner is another mother from California who indicated to Mom.com that she is anxious to get her COVID inoculation. “Yes, because the science behind it has been developed over 17 years,” she said. (It actually goes back farther, beginning in the 1990s.)
Here are seven other things you should know about the COVID vaccine:
What to know about COVID vaccine safety
Where and when you’ll get your COVID vaccine
7. The vaccine schedule may be changing.
At the time the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines received their approvals, the federal government allocated supplies to each of the states based on population. The CDC put out guidelines to jumpstart the vaccination. They prioritized healthcare personnel and vulnerable residents of long-term care facilities (group 1A), to be followed by seniors age 75 and over and frontline essential workers (group 1B).
Since then, administrators have made some changes to the distribution plan. Some of the states are ramping it up by making the vaccine available at large venues like fairgrounds and stadiums. And the states are now authorized to give the vaccine out to any senior who wants it, age 65 and older — that is, if they can get one. Demand is still much greater than supply. That should change as new vaccines from Astra-Zeneca and Johnson & Johnson get approval and come online.
