In the past couple of weeks, millions of Americans woke up to groundbreaking COVID-19 vaccine news. Pfizer released their efficacy data with a success rate of over 90%. Pfizer is now seeking emergency approval by the Food and Drug Administration. 

The millions of Americans that awoke to the good news also awoke to a booming stock market. The foreseeable end to the pandemic put millions of investors into a feel good state and buying frenzy. The S&P 500 saw a 1.2% increase and the Dow Jones saw a 3% increase. The restaurant, travel, and oil industries boomed on November 9 because of the news. For example, Dave and Busters saw a 33% gain and Royal Carribean saw a 29% gain.

The recent good news might also be contributing to a recent and major spike in cases nationwide. Many states have hit new daily records in the past week while numbers continue to rise. Since many people are seeing the end of the pandemic, there seems to be a “celebratory” lack of caution which has given an invalid excuse to many to socially mingle.

Still, many of the students in the St. Andrew’s community remain skeptical. Junior Rhodes Pharr is included.

“I would wait for the second batch to get [the vaccine]”, Pharr said. “I would wait and see the side effects before taking it.”

However, there are also many students that seem excited to receive that vaccine.

“I would definitely take it”, Senior Chadwick Collins said. “I think the efficacy data speaks volumes and the lack of side effects is very promising for everyone.”

Availability of the vaccine is still in question, but many speculate that there will be at least 50 million shots available upon approval.