With the steady rollout of the various COVID-19 vaccines across the country, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes available to everyone…but when? 

As the vaccine becomes available to different age groups, Dr. Anthony Fauci announced that elementary school children will likely be able to get the vaccine early 2022.

While seniors and essential workers have been some of the first to receive their COVID-19 vaccines, the nation’s leading epidemiologist recently said on “Meet the Press” that younger groups — namely, kids in elementary school — will be able to get vaccinated by early next year.

According to CNBC, the reason it’s a little ways off is simply because scientists need to conduct more studies to guarantee safety for young children, as two of the three currently available vaccines are only approved for adults. 

“If you project realistically, when we will be able to get enough data to be able to say that elementary school children will be able to be vaccinated, I would think that would be, at the earliest, the end of the year, and very likely the first quarter of 2022,” Fauci said in the interview. 

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can be given to anyone 16 and older, but currently eligibility for younger people is restricted to those with underlying health conditions or other criteria.

Fauci also said that high school students will likely receive vaccines in the fall around the time that school begins. Fauci says he’s “not sure it’s exactly on the first day school opens, but pretty close to that.”

We’ll continue to keep you updated on COVID-19 vaccine news, and how it relates to your future Disney trips.

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Are you waiting for the vaccine before planning a Disney World trip? Let us know in the comments! 

The post NEWS: Elementary School Kids Could Receive COVID-19 Vaccine in Early 2022 first appeared on the disney food blog.