Last Friday, the FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine, making America the sixth country in the world to approve this vaccine. Within the first week,  almost three million vaccines have been sent to health care workers and nursing homes. Vaccines are packaged in dry ice to keep them cool along with a tracker, so Pfizer can see where they are. From now to March, the government plans to send out a hundred million vaccines to the American people to be vaccinated for free. The Moderna vaccine has also been approved by the FDA and another 100 million vaccines have been ordered from this company.

Federal officials said this week that they plan for at least 20 million people to have the first dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine by the end of the year. Both of the vaccines require two doses to result in full immunity. Although the phases are not set in stone for who will receive the vaccine first, this is what they have so far:

Phase 1a: Health care workers (HCWs) and long-term care (LTC) residents; this includes approximately 17.6 million people

Phase 1b: Non-health care essential workers (including but not limited to: Education Sector, Food & Agriculture, Utilities, Police, Firefighters, Corrections Officers, Transportation); approximately 87 million people

Phase 1c: Persons age 65 and older and those with conditions that place them at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19; Approximately 153 million people

According to ACIP, because phase one’s group of people is very large, the following phases have not been planned out as supplies are limited.

Although a vaccine has been approved and they are being sent out to people already, this does not mean that you don’t need to follow CDC safety guidelines regarding COVID-19. Coronavirus cases have reached an all-time high this week. On Wednesday, December 16th, Coronavirus cases broke the record for most cases in a day with 244,365 cases. The number of deaths has also just passed 300,000 on Monday, making America the leading country for deaths. Additionally, Hospitalizations have passed 112,000 and in some areas, I.C.U’s are close to full capacity.

Dr. Fauci explained “We should celebrate the fact that the science has come through, but it is not over yet. We have a ways to go. We have to abide by the public health measures that we talk about all the time.” With that being said, enjoy your holiday break but remember, just because there is a vaccine doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be smart and stay 6 feet apart.