COVID-19 vaccines are finally here.
But as the vaccines roll out across the US, there are still lots of questions.
When will I get mine How do I get it and most importantly when does life get back to normal?
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The vaccines for COVID-19 have been developed in record time.
But while they're highly effective.
Health officials still need to get those shots into arms.
And in the United States, which has a population of more than 330 million.
That vaccine rollout is a huge task.
Let's break it down.
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Starting with the shots themselves.
As I'm recording this, there are two vaccines approved for use in the US made by Pfizer, Biontech and Madonna.
They both require two separate shots to work properly, three weeks apart for the Pfizer vaccine and four weeks apart from Madonna.
There are also vaccines from Novavax and AstraZeneca, the so called Oxford vaccine.
Both of these could be approved for use in the US by early spring.
And then we have Johnson and Johnson.
That vaccine is just one shot and it's expected to get emergency clearance in the US in early February.
Most importantly.
The vaccines are provided at no cost to everyone in the US regardless of insurance in late January, the Biden administration said it was ordering an extra 200 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, boosting supplies to 600 million or enough to vaccinate almost all the US population But those doses may not arrive until the end of summer.
Marcus Pleasure is the chief medical officer for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, which represents about 100,000 public health officials across the US.
Right now, Pleasure says that the US just doesn't have enough vaccine doses For everyone that wants one.
We knew there was going to be limited supply to begin with.
And so you know, we're trying to administer and distribute the vaccine.
But I think a lot of people are losing, losing track of the fact that you You know, we've only got I think 40 50 million doses right now, and we've already promised it to far more people than that.
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So, how are the vaccines allocated?
Well, the federal government is responsible for buying the vaccines from the manufacturers and then Distributing them to the states.
The CDC has issued guidance on which groups should be prioritized to get the vaccine first.
But in the early stages of the vaccine rollout, the Trump administration essentially left it to the states to work out their own plans.
For example, virtually all of the prioritisation efforts, said that we should start with from Frontline health care workers who are providing COVID-19 care.
But a number of States chose not to do that.
Florida for example, instead decided to immunize the elderly but without a plan to do that and had a rather chaotic beginning of their rollout.
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So when are you and your loved ones eligible to get the vaccine?
Well, the states are vaccinating in phases largely based on the CDC guidelines about who is most at risk.
Phase One is health care workers and people in long term care, then people over 75 people over 65 and younger people with medical conditions and so on.
So first up, you need to know which group you fall into, But when your group gets the vaccine Well, that's a totally different question.
Minnesota for example, is offering the vaccine to educators and anyone over the age of 65.
But that has meant a tightening of supply.
So now they're offering the vaccine via lottery when you're eligible will depend on your state so it's best to check with your state Department website.
If you're young and healthy, then expect to wait a little bit longer.
But the good news is that as more doses become available, this will all get easier.
I think by March April, we should see significant You can change this.
First of all, there should be a lot more of the Pfizer and maternal vaccine available for people.
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When it comes to finding a vaccination site with available doses, getting that information isn't always clear.
Do I call my doctor do I go to my local pharmacy?
Should I go online?.
If you're struggling to find information, you're not alone.
According to Marcus plusher, the best place to start is your state or local health department website.
Go on the state and local health department websites.
There should be pretty good data there about you know.
Who's getting vaccinated and some data about where you might be able to get vaccinated.
Pleasure also suggests checking with your own healthcare system, especially if you have an online health record like my chart.
That way your health care provider can reach you directly with updates about when you can get the vaccine.
At the start of February, the Biden administration also announced it would send 1 million doses to roughly six and a half 1000 retail pharmacies around the country, with a focus on getting vaccines out to at risk communities.
Starting on February 11, the federal government will deliver vaccines directly to select pharmacies across the country.
This will provide more sites for people to get vaccinated in their communities.
And it's an important component to delivering vaccines equitably.
You can check on your local pharmacies website to make an appointment if you're eligible.
And remember, by March or April, we're expecting a lot more doses to come through across the board, which will make it easier to get an appointment
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Okay, so you finally snagged an appointment.
What actually happens when you get the vaccine?
Well, once the vaccine is being administered, you'll have to wait about 15 to 30 minutes to see if you have an adverse reaction.
After that you'll get given a vaccination record card with the details of which type of vaccine you got and when, so you know when to get the second dose.
But getting the vaccine doesn't mean you should let down your guard.
It takes a couple of weeks after the vaccine to develop immunity and we still don't know whether vaccinated people can carry the virus and infect unvaccinated people.
So you'll still have to do things like wearing a mask and social distancing least in the short term, but the good news is the more people who get the short.
The sooner we can be out of this pandemic, which leads us to our final question.
When will life get back to normal?
So the best case scenario for, for me is that we'd get 85% of the people vaccinated by the end of the summer.
If we do then by the time we get to the fall, I think we can approach a degree of normality.
So there you have it, keep wearing a mask.
Keep washing your hands and be patient.
And when you can sign up for a vaccine, you'll be getting as one step closer to ending this pandemic.
