In just a couple of weeks, the first round of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine will be delivered and after ten months of living in a pandemic, Americans will finally start to be vaccinated against it. However, not just anyone can go out and get a vaccine the second the medication is available – health officials are now deciding who gets the vaccine first. They are taking in consideration various factors including age, job, location and health to determine when someone might be able to get the vaccine. So when will you be able to get yours?
The New York Times simplified a vaccine tool created by the Surgo Foundation and Ariadne Labs to help Americans get an idea of where they stand when it comes to the vaccine. After entering in your age, the county you live in, your profession, and if you have any COVID-related health risks, you can find out how many people will likely get vaccinated ahead of you. They show this by representing your state as a line of 100 people waiting for the vaccine and tell you where in that line you would stand, but they also give hard numbers, showing how many people in your county, your state and the country will be vaccinated before you.
In short, it shows that healthcare workers, nursing home employees, first responders and the elderly and sick will be at the front of the line, followed by teachers, the homeless, prisoners, and young adults, then, towards the end, healthy people not in any of those groups. While there is no official timeline for the vaccine, it will likely take a few months to get everyone in the first part of the “line” vaccinated, so it might be later in 2021 for those towards the back.
Check out the tool here.
