With the roll out of vaccines since late December of 2020, many Californians have been administered doses to combat COVID-19. Because of the recent positive effects by the vaccines and the virus threat reducing, there is a chance the Golden State may reopen this summer in Mid-June.

California Governor Gavin Newsom shared via Twitter the following:

“‘BREAKING: CA has administered 20+ million vaccinations. We have the lowest positivity rate in the US. Stable hospitalizations.

Now we’re looking forward.

We’re setting our eyes on fully reopening by June 15th-with commonsense measures like masking.

Mask up & get vaxed, CA.’

—–Gavin Newsom, April 6th, 2021”

The claims of the Governor can be confirmed by the State Dashboard, which can be accessed via the web at https://covid19.ca.gov/state-dashboard/. There have been almost 5.0 new cases per 100k individuals in California, with a death rate of 0.14 per 100k. Anyone testing positive reached 2% as of  April 8th. Note these digits are weighed on a 7-day average and are bound to change.

The two requirements that California must meet for the process of reopening to occur is for there to be sufficient supplies for the vaccination of anyone 16 and older, as well “keep hospitalization stable and low,” reported CBS Sacramento. Governor Newsom has also stated that the mask mandate will remain in place until further notice.

Despite this outlined goal set for the summer, some places have or will soon reopen by the end of April, nearly a month before, with the current safety protocols in place. Disneyland, located down in Anaheim, is set to reopen on April 30th. California’s Great America in Santa Clara is scheduled to reopen on May 22nd.

When the anticipated date, June 15 arrives, businesses will be allowed to reopen fully. Bigger events will be permitted as long as their is testing and vaccine verification.

So far, vaccinations have gone smoothly in the state. However, there still exists doubts and worries over not just the vaccines, but the new variants that have risen during this time. For example, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine has made headlines worldwide over  it’s connections to blood clots vaccinated individuals have developed after receiving the latter. A CDC study has displayed that there have been more side effects by the Moderna vaccine, something people “are more likely to experience,” stated a vaccinnologist to IBT. Various vaccination sites have been forced to shut down due to the recent effects of the vaccines on a handful of individuals.

In regards to variants, a new South African variant was discovered late in 2020. A health expert via the Epoch Times had stated that “it can break through the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine.” To add more, a new study provided by the Tel Aviv University has shown that COVID-19 affects vaccinated individuals more than non-vaccinated.” However, aside from the recent weaknesses and defects displayed by the previously mentioned vaccines, the rest has seemed to progress normally.

Students were asked if they believed California would reopen by June 15. Junior Karla Talamantes commented, ‘I think reopening might actually occur by then. It all depends on how everyone acts in these two months, and if we continue staying safe, you know?”

Another student expressed that it is comforting to know that “those safety measures will still be implemented in the near future,” while another student expressed that, although they don’t think it will reopen on said day, “now that we have an understanding of how this virus works and how to prevent it, everything might go to normal by then.”

What can be certain is that many Californians are looking forward to how everything was before the beginning of this pandemic.