Coronavirus Vaccine: When Will It Be Available?

One of the most asked question for the past year has been, “when the vaccine will be available”. No doubt, everyone is waiting for it since the day World Health Organization (WHO) declared SARS-Cov-2 a global pandemic. 

As for the United States, the country is not only an active participant in the race of development for the Covid-19 vaccines, having produced three vaccines – Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Novavax – but has also approved and authorized two of the produced vaccines (the first two) while the third one is still in the “limited approval” trial phase.

Although the authorities have approved vaccines to be deployed in vaccination camps and clinics around the states, the supply of Covid-19 vaccines are still currently limited, as per the statement released by CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Since the supply is limited, the CDC is continuously providing its recommendations to local, state, and federal government authorities about who should be a prioritized candidate for the vaccine.

The recommendations given by CDC are based on the group of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). ACIP is an independent board of public health and medical experts. The panel's job is to evaluate risks of a certain set of groups affected by SARS-Cov-2—such as children, elderlies, those with pre-existing conditions—and figure out the best possible way to treat all of them accordingly in a limited supply of vaccines.

Furthermore, recommendations are different for each state; every state has its own strategy for making a decision about which group of people will be the first to get vaccinated with the limited supply of vaccines. State residents are requested to contact their state health department for more information about the state’s vaccination plans for people.

The recommendations by CDC follows different phases, wherein Phase 1a, where health care personnel and long-term caretakers would get vaccinated. That would be followed by Phase 1b, opening vaccinations for frontline workers and 75 years+ aged people, and Phase 1c, allowing people between 65–75, 16–64, and other essential workers to get vaccinated. Phases may overlap according to different strategies by state government health departments. 

The country's goal is to allow everyone to be easily vaccinated for Covid-19 as soon as enough quantity of coronavirus vaccines become available in the country. When the vaccine quantity increases, more groups of people will be able to receive proper vaccination, eventually reaching herd immunity.

That being said, President Biden promised, just after a few days of his take over the White House, that by his 100th day in the office, enough coronavirus vaccines will be deployed in the country for everyone to get vaccinated. That was clearly a hint that rapid vaccine development is an on-going process.

If you are based in Chicago, Illinois, numerous reports suggest reputable clinics to offer Free Covid-19 Vaccination for people despite the phases. The vaccines will be available in a couple of weeks, after which people would be able to appoint themselves for a Free Covid-19 Vaccine. Book your free Covid-19 vaccine appointment here.