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My wife and I just received our second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of March 5, only 11.2% of the adult population in the U.S. has received both coronavirus vaccine doses, while 17.4% of California have received at least one dose.  

We will continue to wear masks and keep social distancing and wait to eat inside a restaurant, go to a concert or a movie. Why, because in an exercise of caution, we plan to wait until the vaccination rate in California rises significantly above 17.4%. 

An Israel study indicates a correlation between the percentage of the population given the Covid-19 vaccination and the decline in Covid-19-related hospitalization and deaths. Between December 19 and February 4, 39% of Israelis had received at least one dose of the vaccine. By day 28, when most people had received their second dose, diagnoses had fallen by two-thirds, and COVID-19–related hospitalization had dropped from a daily high of seven people to one. While in the general population, reported cases dropped much more slowly. In short, the more people vaccinated, the less new cases of Covid-19. Similarly, the U.S. vaccination campaign seems to be having the same positive effect. 

That’s why California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, based on indicators that capture disease burden, testing, and health equity now also includes a Vaccine Equity Metric, "arguing that that inoculating the state’s most vulnerable residents will accelerate a safe return to normalcy." However, California will continue to focus on masking and effective use of testing, contact tracing, quarantine and isolation.  

President Joe Biden said the U.S. would have enough Covid-19 vaccine doses for every adult American by the end of May 2021. This would accelerate his timeline for herd immunity by several months. Based on the number of vaccinations already administered and findings from a recent Columbia University study, it is estimated the nation could vaccinate 72% of the population by May 2021. Nobody knows for sure what the herd immunity threshold is for the coronavirus, though many experts say that somewhere between 70% and 85% of the population must be protected to suppress the spread. However, the emergence of variants complicates the picture. 

Yes, wearing a mask and social distancing protect you and those around you. “Wearing a mask isn't a political statement, it’s an IQ test." 

Job growth has improved somewhat as U.S. payrolls increased 379,000 and the unemployment rate dropped slightly to 6.2%. Many economists expect to see job prospects to further improve as vaccinations increase and virus concerns decrease. The danger, of course, is to reopen the economy too quickly when we are so close to the goal line.