Tuesday (December 8) was a big day in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

When 90-year old UK woman Margaret Keenan became the world's first person to receive the vaccine outside of a clinical trial, it signaled what many hope will be the turning point against the virus, which has killed more than 1.5 million people across the globe.

So now that the vaccine is being administered, how long should someone receiving it expect to have immunity from catching coronavirus?

The answer is still a bit unclear.

FierceBiotech is reporting that antibody levels in those who have been testing the Moderna vaccine stayed elevated for 90 days after receiving a second dose.

The findings were outlined in a letter to The New England Journal of Medicine, where scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases updated the data on 34 people who received the early-phase trial of the vaccine.

Despite a slight decline in antibody levels after three months, researchers remain hopeful that the vaccine will prove effective for at least six months.

As for the distribution of the vaccine locally, the South Dakota Department of Health has released its COVID-19 Vaccination Plan which outlines a number of different aspects of the anticipated rollout of the vaccine across the state, but it does not have a specific timetable as of yet.

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