With the way that 2020 went, there was seemingly no place for good news, but, now that the horrible year has come to an end there is light at the end of the tunnel. 

Within the past 4-5 weeks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave emergency approval to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine and is expected to be distributed as soon as possible. Not only has Pfizer been approved, but another large company named Moderna has been given emergency FDA authorization in the same fashion as Pfizer. There has been a detailed plan regarding the immediate distribution of the vaccine which included first responders and those with underlying health conditions to receive it first. 

As for the transportation of the vaccine, it will be complicated. The Pfizer vaccine must be stored at approximately -90 degrees Fahrenheit, which if you didn’t know is very cold. Although this was a huge worry at first, many companies have been working together to create an effective way to distribute the vaccine such as multiple airlines altering their cargo airplanes to soundly hold the vaccine. This in itself will save thousands of lives and begin the reconstruction and recovery of life as we know it. Although there may not be many doses available currently, in the coming months multiple more vaccines are expected to be approved by the FDA as well as the U.S. expecting to receive millions of more doses of the Pfizer vaccine. 

Although the Covid-19 vaccine distribution had been in planning for months, there still have been many problems distributing throughout the U.S. and the world as a whole. In the U.S. new records are being set for Covid every day and the vaccine distribution is still lagging. There have been reports that in his final days, President Trump will slightly change his plans and release all available vaccine doses rather than holding some back to ensure patients have a second dose ready. This comes after Biden stated that it would be one of his first actions after being sworn into the presidency.  

For some, they fear the side effects of the vaccine which have been relatively common. Almost everyone who has taken the vaccine has experienced some side effects some worse than others. Examples of side effects go along the lines of fever, discomfort, and other mostly mild symptoms. There is a small number of people who have taken the vaccine who had allergic reactions, which is completely unrelated to the usual side effects. With there being no known extremely dangerous side effects, some wonder if stores, sporting events, and any mass gathering will require vaccinations in the near future. Although some anticipated that President-Elect Joe Biden would create a federal mandate but he recently told reporters there will be none. 

Some are still wary of the vaccine as the NFL announced that they will not influence players to receive the vaccine before the date of the Super Bowl due to concerns. On the other hand, the NBA released a plan that they would strongly support the use of the vaccine and educate the players on it, but will not force the players to receive it. 

If everything goes as planned, the vaccine will be distributed, a bunch of people will take it, and we will slowly return to life as normal. Dr. Fauci has been on record multiple times saying that we will be close to life as normal by the end of 2021 so we must hope he is right. As of now, everything has been successfully executed and we must hope it stays this way.