COVID-19 vaccine stalled, should reach more Americans soon

Posted January 2021

By Rachel Cairns

Staff Editor

With the COVID-19 vaccine here, the world should be able to breathe a sigh of relief and begin to return to normal—with precautions.

So far, Oregon is in Phase 1B. This phase starts Jan. 25 with childcare providers, early learning and K-12 educators and staff. Then on the week of Feb. 7, Oregonians 80 and older can receive the vaccine. Group 3 starts the week of Feb. 14 for Oregonians 75 and older. Group 4, for Oregonians 70 and older, starts on the week of Feb. 21. Finally, group 5 is for Oregonians 65 and older and starts on the week of Feb. 28.

The COVID-19 vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 7, 2020. The FDA approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and the Moderna vaccine was approved not long after, on Dec. 18.

President Joe Biden has set in play a 100 million doses in 100 days for the vaccine. This plan entails regaining the public's trust, sending the vaccine to all communities, and as in the name, distribute 100 million doses in 100 days to Americans across the country. Currently, over 40 million doses have been distributed, however, only about half have been used.

“The United States will spare no effort to ensure Americans can get vaccinated quickly, effectively, and equitably,” said Biden in the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness on Jan. 21.

This is a drastic change from Donald Trump's plan when he was president. From what has been released to the public, Trump had little to no plan on how to distribute the vaccine beyond hospitals and nursing homes.