Whether it’s the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine, as of Thursday, neither vaccine has been approved for those under 16 years of age. However, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, that may change soon.

“Hopefully by the time we get to the late spring and early summer we will have children being able to be vaccinated,” Dr. Fauci said.

According to the Associated Press, the vaccine manufacturers are testing the vaccine on children as young as 12 years old and if the tests come back successful, they’ll even test children who are 9 years old.

Sophomore Iliana Solis is looking forward to the vaccines coming in around summer time as they will provide students with hope of going back to school at last.

“I think that it is a good idea that the vaccine is getting tested, and I think – at the very least – it can give students a little hope to go back to school,” Solis said. “I know there are some students actually going to school in person, but I think that a handful of them would also like to not have to wear a mask or stay six feet apart from each other.”

Approximately 1.3 percent of children have had a known case of COVID-19 according to the CDC.  

“Children tend to not become as severely ill as adults, but they still become ill and some have tragically died,” public health expert, Dr. Leana Wen said in an Associated Press article. 

“Children can also be vectors of transmission, and getting children vaccinated is important as we strive for herd immunity.”

But the news of vaccines for those under the age of 16 could possibly bring back a sense of normalcy according to sophomore Shruti Shah, meaning nothing but good news to her.

“I think that could be good news for helping bring normalcy back,” Shah said. “It can be good news for children who have preexisting conditions making them more susceptible to COVID-19.”

Currently, a little more than 1 million shots are being administered daily to those over the age of 18 –  slowly arriving at President Biden’s goal of 1.5 million shots a day as part of his 100 million shots for his first 100 days in office.

English teacher Nicole Patterson says she will follow the science.

“My opinion is that if science supports it, it would be wonderful if vaccinations were available for students this summer,” she said. “We should take all of the safe, scientifically endorsed steps possible to reach herd immunity as soon as possible.”