As vaccine eligibility expands, how close is a return to normalcy?

As more people prepare to get a COVID-19 vaccine, could we still see a resurgence in cases?

Those 40 and older in Florida will be eligible to get vaccinated starting Monday, and beginning April 5, the age group drops to 18 and up. Those who are 16 and 17 will also be able to get a shot, but only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for that age group.

Many doctors say that even though more people are getting vaccinated, it isn’t time to let your guard down. More variants are emerging, although more vaccinations are helping to combat the spread of the more severe variants.

Dr. Stephen Kissler with Harvard’s Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases Department, said the vaccine is great for building up herd immunity, but we likely won’t be back to some sort of normalcy until the end of 2022.

He said it’s likely COVID-19 will become something we deal with every year, like the flu.

“I think that we will likely return to something that resembles the life that we had prior to the pandemic, even if COVID-19 does turn to seasonal circulation, I think that through the vaccination, through natural exposure to the illness, we will hopefully build up some level of immunity to it that will prevent the most severe outcomes. So I think SARScov2 will likely continue to circulate, but I think that’s a reasonable projection.”

Younger people who spoke with WINK News said getting vaccinated isn’t much of a priority for them, but everyone who was 30 and older said they plan to sign up right away.

For information on pre-registering for a vaccine or making an appointment at various retail pharmacies that offer the vaccine, click here.