On Aug. 23, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration officially gave the stamp of approval for people 16 and older to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, expanding the range of Americans who are eligible to be vaccinated. This is the first COVID vaccine for adolescents to be approved by the FDA. 

   According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 233.3 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been administered and roughly 103 million people have been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine. Data given by the CDC shows that the current number of people fully vaccinated in the United States is 187.2 million, making 56.2% of the total population fully vaccinated. 

   Currently, 76.2% of people ages 12 years or older have received at least one dose of a vaccine, and 65.8% are fully vaccinated as stated by the CDC. 

   “You could go into a public place without a mask if you were vaccinated,” Frazer Faustin, junior, said when asked why he got the vaccine.

   Another student said that she would have gotten vaccinated if she had not already contracted COVID.

   “There’s a lot of things you can’t do without the vaccine,” Victoria Stroup, junior, said. She felt the vaccine is “a forced thing.” 

   With the vaccine mandate in effect, more people might be obligated to get the vaccine, while others may resist getting vaccinated. 

   Moving forward, the Pfizer company plans to have their booster shot available for all ages. On August 25, 2021, the FDA gave authorization for people 65 years and older and people 18 to 64 years old who are at high risk to get the Pfizer booster shot. Although the Pfizer booster shot hasn’t been approved yet the CDC’s data released on the website shows how the vaccine’s effectiveness is only a short-term solution to the virus and will slowly decline over time. Nonetheless, the CDC has estimated around 9.32 million people have received a booster shot and according to former health policy director Dr. Kavita, the demand for booster shots are “pretty high” and “are outpacing initial doses by a factor of about 2 to 3 to.”