But realistically I know this is amazing speed. Fingers crossed we can get enough of the 12+ population vaccinated to reach herd immunity.
I live in a county with an older population (around 50% is 50+) so we have a high percentage of vaccinated people (35% fully vaccinated, just over half have at least one shot). Our case rates have plummeted and unlike some places our testing rates have held steady - we are testing .7% of the population each day and only 1% of those tests are positive.
I hope it’s a sign that broad vaccinations are helping slow transmission. I know it makes me feel safer while I wait my turn. (And my age 7 and 10 kids)
I live in a county with an older population (around 50% is 50+) so we have a high percentage of vaccinated people (35% fully vaccinated, just over half have at least one shot). Our case rates have plummeted and unlike some places our testing rates have held steady - we are testing .7% of the population each day and only 1% of those tests are positive.
I hope it’s a sign that broad vaccinations are helping slow transmission. I know it makes me feel safer while I wait my turn. (And my age 7 and 10 kids)
I have been tracking Israel's numbers and it looks like they are getting a huge drop off with about 60% with one dose (and a high for both doses, much higher than here). Cases are way down.
There are all sorts of nuances as to why a 60% vaccine rate in the US would not look the same. Israel was more closed, it has vaccine passports (so you must be vaccinated for certain activities), it is smaller, it has basically only one vaccine, it has universal health care for citizens making health care in general easier. It is however a very dense nation and not everyone can receive the vaccine.
I am hopeful that once the US hits 50%-60% things look much better. However it maybe very lumpy -- some areas might hit 80% and others stay at 50%. I expect to see outbreaks like we see measles outbreaks in under vaccinated communities.
As a mom of a 2 and 5 year old, I will admit to being a bit disappointed. It is going to be so hard to watch everyone else go back to normal life while we wait another year. But realistically I know this is amazing speed. Fingers crossed we can get enough of the 12+ population vaccinated to reach herd immunity. [/quote]
I feel the same - DH got his first vax a couple of weeks ago, and I transitioned from the Pfizer placebo group to the vaccinated group last week. So while it it was exciting, it doesn't really feel like anything has changed for us since the girls are still months away from vaccination. DD1 is turning 12 in November, so hopefully it will be easy to get her vaccinated by that point (she has a blood-injection-injury phobia, so signing her up for the clinical trial is a nonstarter). But DD2 is only 8, so I would really love for her to be involved in the study and get her protected as soon as possible.
I just keep reminding myself that so many other people are getting vaccinated that all of us are safer, even without the under-12s being vaxed. Even though they are rolling back our distancing requirements, even in kid-heavy places like the pool.
We just got an email from our superintendent detailing the rest of this year and the beginning of next year. Good news y'all! I guess the pandemic is over! /s
Masks will be optional as of June 1st (the school year ends before then). Pretty bold to declare that already...
There will also be a virtual academy for next year. This is good. Let's not make teachers teach hybrid style ever again. Curious to see the details on this.