On December 14 2020, Nurse Sandra Lindsay was the first person to receive the COVID vaccine in the U.S. Now, according to Our World in Data published May 11, a total of 118 million people are fully vaccinated.

COVID 19 cases are steadily decreasing. On May 11, the online source Healthline stated that new cases fell below 40,000 per day over the past week.

After a surge of vaccinations, there are now less people at an increased risk, which means less are rushing to get their vaccines.

Still, even with slowing rates of vaccinations, the U.S. is down 23.6 percent of new cases compared to last week, according to the “COVID Data Tracker Weekly Review” published online by the CDC and last updated May 14.

Massachusetts students over the age of 12 can now get vaccinated. In Abington, the Health Department, Fire Department, and the School Department scheduled a vaccine clinic at the High School for Wednesday, May 19 for interested students.

Back on Feb 14, Abington High School senior Amanda Lopes received the Moderna vaccine. After only having a few of the expected side effects, Lopes has remained COVID free since being vaccinated.

“I got the vaccine because my sister is at high risk to get COVID. So it is to protect her and others around me,” Lopes said.

Although “pretty anxious at first,” Lopes said, “My mom, dad and sister had gotten theirs, so I already knew what to expect.”

Getting the vaccine was easy. Lopes said that after receiving the shot she “had to wait 15 minutes to be watched to make sure I didn’t have a bad reaction. After the 15 minutes was up, I was able to go home.”

Lopes encouraged others to get the vaccine. “Some people are afraid of getting the COVID vaccine because of how new it is, but I would say I’d rather risk getting the vaccine than seeing my sister struggle to fight off COVID 19.”

With data showing decreased cases following so many people now vaccinated against COVID, we should continue to do what we can to prevent another outbreak.

By getting vaccines, continuing to wear a mask, and following COVID 19 protocols, the end of this pandemic could be closer than we think.