Dealing with Covid-19 has been difficult this year, leaving many people hoping for a vaccine that can bring back some sense of normalcy. Finally we can say that help is on its way. However, it will take longer to get the vaccinations rolled out which is why each state will decide on a vaccine schedule: outlining the order of individuals able to receive the vaccine with recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

The panel of the CDC voted to recommend that nursing home residents and other long-term care facility residents as well as frontline healthcare workers should be first. After those groups the panel voted for Americans 75 and older and frontline workers like firefighters, police, teachers, and grocery store workers to receive the vaccine next.

Now that we know who will be the first ones to receive the vaccines we need to know which vaccines will be taken. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is already being used throughout the

United States and in many other countries. The estimates on how many have received this vaccine in the United States are over 500,000 and growing. Another vaccine that has recently received emergency authorization is Moderna. The Moderna vaccine is beginning its use the second to last week of December. A third vaccine maker called Astrazeneca is expected to have a tougher time getting their vaccine approved without a trial based in the United States.

Finally, it’s important to know when people will begin to receive the first doses of the vaccines. The first vaccinations in the United States began the week of December 13 with an expected 2.9 million doses, enough for 1.45 million people. From that there is an expected timeline of doses with 40 million expected in December and 50 million more doses in January, enough to vaccinate another 45 million people.

The next two months of 2021 are expected to produce 60 million in February and March. This production will reportedly meet the demand by the summer of 2021. “By the second quarter of next year, we’ll have enough vaccine for every American that wants it,” stated Alex Azar, the Secretary of Heath and Human Services. Even though these numbers are only estimates, it is good news for those hoping to get back to normalcy. 

Continue to monitor news outlets for more information on this as it becomes available.