For more than a year now, our lives have been quite literally taken over by COVID-19. Last March, to leave the house would have been equated to a life-threatening journey: shielded with a mask and mindful of social distancing safety was no guarantee. But since those dark days, we have become much more lax in our interactions. The question remains: when will this all end? When may we finally abandon our masks and come together without the need for social distancing?

In February, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it’s possible that “Americans may have to wear face masks in 2022”. If this estimate remains true, then juniors such as myself will have had the two most important years of our educational careers defined by this virus, and freshmen will never have truly experienced high school until their junior year. But, then again, the vaccine was only in its baby phases back in February.

Despite several incidents ranging from spoiled vaccines to some unfortunate incidents of reactions, today, in April, we are much further along in our war against COVID. Today, people of all age groups, from all walks of life, may soon gain access to their vaccinations. In fact, about 141 million Americans have already received at least one dose of the vaccine, making up 42% of the population. Of these people, about 97 million have been fully vaccinated, 29% of the population. 

Visit – https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations – for active reports on vaccinations

In light of these vaccine advancements along with other positive regulations, COVID-19 cases in the US have fallen significantly since January: from a daily average of about 250,000 in January to an average of about 62,000, a roughly 75% decrease.

Visit – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html – for active reports on COVID cases

In spite of these great leaps forward, we still have a long way to go in ending COVID-19’s dominance over society. While Pfizer and BioNTech’s co-created vaccine has had a proven 95% efficacy in preventing COVID-19 in those without prior infection, and Moderna and Johnson & Johnson have yielded similar results, masks will still be required as precautionary measures.

As our society continues forward, we may soon find an exact answer to the question previously posed: When may we finally abandon our masks and come together without the need for social distancing? Today, we can only say that the light at the end of the tunnel will be reached once everyone has been vaccinated, and we will get there by continuing our commitment to existing regulations and encouraging the passage of further precautionary measures, such as vaccination cards to travel.

Sources:

https://www.advisory.com/en/daily-briefing/2021/02/22/coronavirus#:~:text=Anthony%20Fauci%2C%20director%20of%20the,the%20United%20States%20may%20return

https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid-19-vaccine-developments-in-2021 

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html 

https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-19-vaccine-comparison