As the COVID-19 vaccine is being prepared to roll out to those under the age of 16, it awaits final approval from the FDA which will ultimately lead to achieving herd immunity and increasing New Mexico’s vaccination rate. In order to reach herd immunity, 80-90 percent of the population would have to be vaccinated. According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, people under the age of 16 should be receiving vaccines, at the latest, in the first few months of 2022 for elementary age children and possibly sooner for adolescents. However, this transition does not come without its struggles. Before the vaccine will be available for people under 16, it must be approved by the FDA and pass three phases of the test trial. As of now, the closest vaccine to being approved is the Pfizer vaccine for ages 12-15, since it is now in phase three of test trials. When this vaccine passed the second phase of test trials, all participants demonstrated 100% efficacy. Moderna has also begun its testing on children and has chosen the University of New Mexico to be a part of the national effort to test the Moderna vaccine in ages 6-12.