Starting on April 15, Californians who are 16 years or older can receive a COVID-19 vaccine and California residents 50 or older will all be eligible to receive a vaccine on April 1.

This is a strong first step at restoring normalcy to the state of Calif. Many states around the country have already started to go back to normal, and with this news, the golden state should not be that far off as well.

In an article by the Los Angeles Times, Governor Gavin Newsom said, “Our ability to do more has always been constrained by supply, manufactured supply,” Newsom said, “We have confidence, now, of the manufactured supply becoming available sooner than we had anticipated. There’s not just light at the end of the tunnel; there’s bright light at the end of the tunnel.” 

Following President Biden’s promise that all adults would be vaccine eligible by May 1st, California’s deadline of April 15th comes as quite the revelation.

The California Department of Public Health says adults eligible for the vaccine may reach out to their doctors office to schedule a vaccine as early as March 25th.  Calif. residents will also be able to book vaccination appointments through the My Turn scheduling site, which will then direct them to vaccination sites in their area. 

In an interview with the LA Times, Dr. Nancy Gin, a medical director for Kaiser Permanente, said, “We encourage all who are eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible.” Gin then went on to say, “Until most of the community is vaccinated, everyone should continue to maintain healthy behaviors, including wearing a mask, washing hands often, and avoiding crowds, even after vaccination, to help ensure we are not spreading the virus.”

While this is exciting news, the pandemic does still exist, which means safety regulations can not be ignored because someone is vaccinated. It has been made clear by a multitude of government and healthcare officials that rising vaccination rates don’t eliminate the need for social distancing and mask-wearing. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the U.S National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases has shown support in continuing to be safe and cautious even after Americans have received the vaccine. 

Michaela O’Brien, a Junior at Sonoma State University, describes her excitement about receiving the vaccine: “I am very excited to finally receive the vaccine.  Being someone who likes to be active and outside a lot, it is awesome to hopefully be able to do all those things again.  Also with the entire progress of the vaccine I am able to do more things with my major like going to work sites and hopefully on to campus next semester.”  

With increased vaccination rates comes lower numbers of COVID-19 cases, therefore leading Calif. closer and closer to the light at the end of the tunnel. As long as people continue to get vaccinated, social distance, and wear their masks, Calif. and the rest of the country will be well on their way to beating COVID-19.

To learn more about when and how to get a COVID-19 vaccine, visit myturn.ca.gov.