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- A new survey on coronavirus vaccines shows that two-thirds of Americans are unwilling to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
- A quarter of those interviewed say they will never get vaccinated, while 44% said they would rather wait and see how the initial round of immunization goes.
- Recent controversies over the use of emergency vaccines abroad and in the US could explain why some people are more reticent than before to these life-saving drugs.
Coronavirus vaccines are one of the hottest topics in COVID-19 right now, as several candidate vaccines have entered the critical stage of development that will tell researchers whether they are effective against the new virus and safe for their use. use. Three vaccines have reached Phase 3 in the Americas and Europe, with a few others expected to announce the final stages of research in the coming months. China has at least three vaccines that have reached the final phase and Russia has an experimental vaccine of its own. The main difference between the East and the West when it comes to vaccine research for the new coronavirus is that Russia and China have already approved their drugs for emergency use.
That’s only part of the reason why new coronavirus vaccines are such a hot topic right now. The Trump administration was criticized a few days ago for issuing an emergency use authorization for plasma therapy, with some concerned that the same could happen with vaccines.
The latest coronavirus vaccine update appears to show how all this vaccine talk could affect future COVID-19 immunization campaigns. A new survey says that two-thirds of Americans will not receive the first COVID-19 vaccines when they are first available, a marked increase from the last survey.
Russia shocked the world by announcing the launch of its emergency vaccination program before releasing any scientific data showing that the drug is safe to use and creates the required immune response that would prevent the spread of the disease. China has at least published the articles describing the efficacy and safety of its advanced drugs.
Regarding plasma approval, the scientists contested the FDA’s decision and said the available data was not strong enough. Plasma transfusions work in certain conditions and can save the lives of patients experiencing complications from COVID-19. However, not all plasma recipients will do equally well. Then a report said Trump could speed up approval of emergency use for one of the advanced vaccine candidates ahead of the November 3 presidential election.
Health experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci have explained that a vaccine would not be approved for public use before data shows it works safely in patients, but they said at least one vaccine could be ready by the end of the year and that we could know if the drugs work in November. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn made it clear that political factors will not influence vaccine approvals and that vaccines will be thoroughly scrutinized before approval.
All this back and forth about vaccine development seems to have had an impact on public opinion. The scientists cautioned that public confidence in this type of therapy is critical to the success of vaccination campaigns. Previous surveys showed that a third of Americans said they would not receive the vaccine when it was available. The new data from USA Today/ The Suffolk poll shows a worrying trend.
Two-thirds of 1,000 voters polled last weekend say they will not attempt to get the vaccine when it becomes available. A quarter of those surveyed said they will never get it. The difference between those numbers, or 44% of the voters surveyed, will not take the vaccine until others have tried it.
People who said they would take the vaccine were divided between those who said they would take the drug once it becomes available (27%) and those who were undecided (6%). People older than 75 were the most likely to say they would get immunized, but those younger than 24 also said they would take the vaccine right away or after seeing how the initial vaccines worked.
Up to 86% of Democrats and 61% of Republicans would receive the vaccine at some point, while men and women were equally divided.
Hispanic voters (17%) and black voters (15%) are less willing than white voters (31%) to get vaccinated as soon as possible, the poll also showed.
If the government ordered the vaccine, 41% of those surveyed would not receive it, while 50% of them would agree to the immunization. However, in recent comments, Fauci explained that the government would have no way of requiring COVID-19 vaccines.
The US government has already signed billions of dollars worth of agreements with various vaccine manufacturers to ensure access to vaccine supply should these drugs prove effective. Companies are investing money in making vaccines before they are approved, so that the first doses are available immediately after the approval process is complete. Those doses would be worthless if the data does not prove the drug’s efficacy and safety. Several people involved in the process, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, as well as senior executives from pharmaceutical companies, explained in previous interviews that the risk is justified. If the drugs are effective, vaccination campaigns can begin immediately. If they don’t work, you will only lose money.
To induce the type of vaccine-based herd immunity that will prevent the spread of outbreaks, a country will need to have a high percentage of the population immunized. But this survey indicates that while the United States may be in a position to have access to a large supply of vaccines, a significant percentage of the public may not be willing to take advantage of it.
Chris Smith began writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it, he shared his views on technology with readers around the world. Whenever he doesn’t write about gadgets, he miserably fails to stay away from them, though he desperately tries. But that is not necessarily a bad thing.
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