75% Of Americans Over 12 Have Gotten First Dose Of COVID Vaccine As FDA Eyes Approval For Kids Ages 5-11

     With all the bad news surrounding COVID lately, it is time we start to look toward the light at the end of the tunnel. 75 percent of Americans over the age of 12, or 75 percent of all eligible Americans, have been at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19. Keeping in mind missed second doses, we are on track to get 70 percent of Americans over 12 fully vaccinated by Halloween. We are seeing even more progress in people ages 18 to 64 and 65 and up. 77 percent of people over the age of 18 have at least received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, as have an astonishing nearly 95 percent of people over the age of 65. 

     Unfortunately, as of yet, children 11 and under are not able to get the vaccine. The result of this is that the Delta variant disproportionately impacts children while only 65 percent of the total U.S. population has begun getting the Fauci Ouchy. There is hope, though. Pfizer's vaccine has been fully approved, and we should see the Moderna vaccine fully approved within the next few weeks. Vaccine boosters have been approved for the immunocompromised and people over 65, and Johnson and Johnson announced a booster of its shot puts its effectiveness in line with the Pfizer and Moderna shots. The biggest news is that Pfizer has declared its vaccines safe and effective for children ages five through 11. Meanwhile, the United States is allowing vaccinated individuals to travel to the U.S. and providing 500 million doses around the world. The next couple of months will be hard; remember, it takes weeks to die of COVID. However, these new updates, combined with President Biden's vaccine mandate, should allow us to speed up vaccination rates, and I think that we can get five out of every six Americans fully vaccinated by spring 2022. If these predictions come true, I believe we can drastically reduce coronavirus rates by Thanksgiving, beat the pandemic entirely by spring of next year, restore our economy by next summer, and get international trade and travel up and running by autumn 2022. 

     I like to look to my own community for hope. I attend UW-Milwaukee, and we have a "70 for 70" scholarship competition going on. If your campus reaches 70 percent of students fully vaccinated and you are one of those vaccinated students, you are exempted from mandatory testing and entered into a drawing to win one of 70 $7,000 scholarships across the system. So far, Milwaukee, La Crosse, Eau Claire, and Madison have all met their goals. Madison is the most impressive, with some 92 percent of students and 99 percent of staff fully vaccinated without having a mandate in place. President Tommy Thompson's personal mission right now is getting 80 percent of the hundreds of thousands of system student and staff fully vaccinated.

     These vaccines save lives. These vaccines inspire hope. These vaccines boost our economy. These vaccines are so vitally important, and that's why I'm urging you to help me #GetOutTheVax.