For about a year now, COVID-19 has cast a shadow over all of America. From disputes on the usefulness of masks to the death and infected toll rising, Americans are looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, asking when all of this will be over with. It’s looking like it could be sooner than later thanks to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine being approved.

President Biden has announced that at the rate of vaccines being produced every American adult could potentially be vaccinated by May. The currently available vaccines are from Pfizer, Moderna, and the newly FDA-approved vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. 

President Biden’s administration announced his plan for 100 million vaccines in 100 days shortly before he took office. According to NPR, at this time around 50.2 million Americans have been vaccinated with 52 days left in Biden’s first 100 days. With less than 50 days to go and around 50 million vaccines to be distributed, Biden is pushing to vaccinate school staff by the end of this month. 

Herd immunity has really just been used as a shorthand for “back to normal.” It has been the goal since the summer of 2020, but it should be considered more of a moving target. The exact percentage of people immune needed to reach herd immunity is unknown due to the fact that it varies with each disease. However, by utilizing information from past infections it can be hypothesized what the herd immunity will have to look like. According to the World Health Organization “For example, herd immunity against measles requires about 95% of a population to be vaccinated. The remaining 5% will be protected by the fact that measles will not spread among those who are vaccinated.”

The main misconception is that when we hit herd immunity all of America can go back to “normal.” In actuality, there is no defined ending. COVID-19 has created a whole new reality, so it will look more like a hybrid of the old and new normal.

Dr. Fauci has predicted that even if we transition back into the old way society functioned, masks might need to be used well into 2022. The reason for the possible continuation of a mask mandate is due to the varied strains of COVID-19; this will be decided closer to the end of the year based on what the COVID statistics are. 

In order to get closer to the finish line, the CDC recommends wearing a mask, cutting back on time spent with large sums of people, and getting the vaccine when it’s your turn.