By Lizz Panchyk
Throughout this lengthy pandemic, we have been waiting and hoping for the Covid vaccine to come out. It initially came out during December, and we started seeing more eligibility in early 2021. It started with elderly people and people with underlying health conditions, as well as essential workers and those who work in schools. It was very satisfying to see the continuation of the vaccine being given out, and in more recent weeks, the eligibility has expanded to ages 50, then 30, and as of April 6, to those as young as 16. We hope to see this process continue as we hit the summer months.
As someone who works in a high school, I was eligible beginning in January. However, it is
hard to get an appointment as they are taken extremely fast. There are sometimes waitlists, so you have to jump in as soon as you can, especially now that more people are eligible. I received my first vaccine in late March and a majority of my family is fully vaccinated. It’s great progress to not only watch my family and friends receive the vaccine, but also to overhear the teachers talk about it with high hopes. For once, the future is a little bit brighter as more and more people get vaccinated. It is a personal choice, of course, but I do see more positives to come out of this than negatives.
With more locations opening up to administer vaccines, there are more options for those who are eligible. Adelphi was administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is one shot, but had to stop because of new CDC guidelines. However, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are still being offered across the state. Now that eligibility has expanded, anyone at Adelphi can get it by making an appointment if they haven’t gotten it yet.
You can ask your local drugstore if they’re administering and who they are administering to, as well as make an appointment through the New York State website, which will offer locations where you can receive the vaccine. Jones Beach is a very popular administration spot, and it’s a drive-up process that’s fast and simple.
With roughly 150 million vaccines administered in the United States as of this writing, we’re hoping that this keeps going in the right direction in order to flatten the curve and be able to live (somewhat) normally once again. President Joe Biden is even hoping for this return to normalcy to begin sometime in July, just a mere three months away. New Yorkers and Americans in general are hoping for the light at the end of the tunnel and for the sense of normalcy to return once again. Now that would be a great summer surprise.