TAMPA, Fla. — The distribution of the coronavirus vaccine is shaping up to be one of the most complex undertakings of our generation.
While government organizations iron out details about where to store the doses, who should get it first, where to get it, and everything else in between, there's another obstacle looming.
People need to actually get it for this thing to work.
"A lot of the public is concerned. We’ve gone pretty fast. It’s been about a year since China made it known that there’s this pneumonia of unknown origin in Wuhan," said Dr. Michael Teng, a virologist at the University of South Florida College of Public Health.
Teng said transparency from the beginning is already helping to build vaccine confidence.
"Independent scientists like me, like my colleagues, we can go in and take a look. We can see if what they’re saying is really true," he added.
Teng said he's studied the data, he's followed the trials and "this is an amazingly safe and effective vaccine."
Yes, he'll be getting it as soon as it's available.
However, about half of US adults surveyed by the Pew Research Center in September said they would definitely or probably not take a COVID-19 vaccine citing concerns over safety.
Dr. Todd Wolynn, a Pittsburg-based pediatrician will be getting the vaccine when it becomes available but that wasn't always his stance. He said his position became instantly clear when he saw the data for himself.
Wolynn serves on various panels as an expert on vaccine communication and vaccine confidence. He founded Shots Heard Round the World in 2017, a network of medical professionals dedicated to combating anti-vaccine attacks on social media pages, websites, and review sites of doctors' offices and hospitals.
"There’s confusion and distrust with government entities, including health entities like the CDC, NIH, and FDA," Wolynn said.
That's why he believes it's up to local family doctors, pediatricians, and nurses to promote the importance of the coronavirus vaccine.
"That’s the ticket. Healthcare providers at the local level need to one- get the information, understand it and talk to our families about the safety, the effectiveness of the vaccine, and be willing to show we got the vaccine when it comes out," he added.
You might be wondering, how do these disinformation campaigns get started in the first place?
Wolynn says there's almost always something in it for them. For example, someone might knock a vaccine but promote a multi-vitamin they're selling. Someone else might manipulate the facts for political gain and another might just like the power associated with converting people to their way of thinking.
That being said, don't be discouraged. The vast majority of Americans follow the science day in and day out.
"We get our vaccines, we follow what science says and yet you’re attacked by a very small, one percent of people, who have all these ulterior motives to stir it up," Wolynn said.
And although it's been fast, there haven't been shortcuts.
COVID-19 vaccines must go through all the independent safety steps a normal vaccine would go through to get the emergency use authorization by the FDA.
While a normal vaccine study may have 5,000 people, these trials had between 30,000-60,000 people.
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