According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 111 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered—now making up 21.7% of the total U.S. population. The U.S. is currently administering over 2.7 million shots a day. 

The goal according to President Joe Biden is to have enough vaccines for all adults by May 1 of this year. 

BIOLA RECEIVES VACCINES 

Biola’s Health Center sent out a campus-wide email on Tuesday, March 16, informing students that Biola has received a limited amount of COVID-19 Moderna mRNA vaccines. 

“We have extended vaccine services to include student frontline on-campus workers (i.e. janitorial staff, RAs, Cafe staff, etc.),” the email read.

Los Angeles County has expanded the eligibility list to include adults under the age of 65 years old who have underlying health conditions or disabilities. 

If any faculty, staff and students qualify for a vaccine based on the list provided, they can schedule an appointment with the Student Health Center.

Vaccines will be provided as soon as Wednesday, March 17 between 8:15 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

VACCINES FOR ALL AMERICANS?

Moderna announced on Tuesday that they have begun a trial to administer the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to children from ages six months through 11 years old in the U.S. and Canada.

About 6,750 healthy children are expected to enroll in the trial from both countries. Each child is expected to receive two shots, 28 days apart. 

Currently the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are only cleared for people 18 and older and Pfizer’s vaccine is only authorized for ages 16 and up.

In December of 2020, Moderna started a trial for children ages 12 to 17. Pfizer had completed enrollment of participants with teenagers ages 12 to 15. This data should be released over the summer for children ages 12 and older. 

If regulators clear the results, younger teens could start getting vaccinated once there is enough supply, but neither company has confirmed a timeline of when these vaccines will be available for younger children.

FROM PURPLE TO RED

Over the weekend 10 of California’s 58 counties progressed from the most restrictive tier—the purple tier—to the red tier. This means that there is “substantial” risk of COVID-19 spread, but more businesses are allowed to reopen with limited capacity.

In L.A. County, indoor dining was allowed to resume at 25% capacity with 8 feet of distance between all tables. These tables will only allow for a maximum of six people from the same household to be seated.

Gyms can open at 10% capacity and movie theaters at 25% capacity or 100 people, whichever is fewer.