by Andrew Fierro

As the state of California opens up COVID-19 vaccinations to all people 16 and older, many more young adults are being vaccinated everyday, which is having a positive effect on the state’s COVID-19 cases. 

Beginning on April 15th, all California residents over the age of 16 are now available to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Adults and young adults all over the state are lining up to receive the vaccine in large numbers. The young adults who are 16 or 17 years of age are eligible to schedule, with their parent or guardian’s consent, a local vaccine which is to be Pfizer only. 

With these vaccines being rolled out to millions, the state has seen a positive result in COVID-19 cases and is on par with the targeted date of a June 15tth reopening. Over 24 millions doses have been administered in California with many more being done everyday. 

Many students have received the vaccine due to athletic concerns and one Bosco student who has obtained his is junior Joshua Joson. 

“I received my Pfizer vaccine last thursday on April 15th, and will receive my second shot in the middle of may, it took about an hour all together, and I felt no pain or sickness afterwards,” Said Joson.

After being given the vaccine, patients will be asked to wait for a certain amount of time in order to make sure that there have not been any reactions to the vaccine. Now due to this wave of vaccines, California has seen for the first time in a long time a positive trend in cases in the state.

The Bosco students being vaccinated are now able to practice their sports in confidence without the worry of being affected by the virus.

“Being a student athlete, getting the vaccine has taken some stress off of my shoulders knowing that I don’t have to worry about contracting the virus and missing time of school and my sport,” Joson said. 

The vaccine being opened to people over the age of 16 helps high school students be able to participate in all the highschool activities that they are usually offered. There will be a higher output of high school sports because of the vaccination being administered to more and more high school students everyday.

There are many different sites in the state that are offering the vaccine, but each individual may have a different level of difficulty in getting their vaccine. Due to priorities over different jobs and students, some people may have to wait longer in order to get an appointment to become vaccinated. 

Anyone who receives a Pfizer vaccine will have to receive a second shot in order to become fully vaccinated. Though there have been many positives with the COVID-19 situation in california, one negative has been the Johnson and Johnson vaccine being halted. Though the vaccine is being halted, the state’s health officials said that this halt will not have any effect on the distribution timeline. 

Almost one third of adults in California are vaccinated with 50% of adults all over the U.S. receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. These high rates of vaccination are having an extremely positive effect on the country and state in terms of case numbers. 

California has seen the lowest 7 day average of COVID-19 cases in the state as of April 18th since May of last year. The cases, deaths and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have all substantially lowered since the rollout of the vaccine. 

With California set to fully reopen on June 15th including a positive trend in terms of COVID-19 cases, the state is finally seeing some positive outcomes since the beginning of the pandemic. Hope is here!