If a Vaccine for COVID-19 was Released at the End of 2020, Would You Be Willing to Receive It?
BY ERIN TOBIN '23
Since March, developing a working vaccine has become a necessity as coronavirus cases increase daily. However, if a vaccine was administered by the end of 2020, would the American public trust enough to take it?
This September, in a study by Pew Research Center, 51% of adults said they would be willing to receive a coronavirus vaccine. Why are these numbers so low? Well, 77% of American adults think it is very or somewhat likely that a COVID-19 vaccine will be approved in the United States before fully understanding its safety and efficacy because companies have revealed little about the vaccine’s prospects and timeline.
As a reminder, on May 8th, when there were 33 million jobless claims and a death toll of 90 thousand, President Donald Trump said, “This is going to go away without a vaccine.” At that point during the pandemic, Americans could see that the numbers of cases continued to grow as their situation only became more bleak. When our nation was there most vulnerable, our administration failed to acknowledge that a vaccine was even necessary.
Perhaps the numbers of vaccine hopefuls would increase if we knew that the vaccine was trusted by medical professionals like Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fortunately, Dr. Fauci has expressed support for government efforts to produce a vaccine, including Operation Warp Speed (OWS), which aims to quicken the development, manufacturing, and distribution of the vaccine. Dr. Fauci has publicly praised this organization over the past few months, easing worries and reassuring the public that they are in the hands of trusted medical professionals.
Dr. Fauci has also debunked the notion that the organization’s vaccine will not be fully approved. In an interview with Albert Rizzo, he said, “[The OWS] has a connotation of almost reckless speed, and it's not...It's really the advances in platform technology that have allowed us to do things in a matter of months that usually takes literally years.”
Thankfully, today fifty vaccines are in development. According to a New York Times article on the timeline of a vaccine, eleven vaccines are now in stage three trials, meaning the vaccines are currently being tested on thousands of people. There have been “promising results” from these major trials.
However, the president and those in charge of handling this pandemic have not been announcing and releasing this information. For some reason, it is up to us to figure out which companies to trust. Luckily, Dr. Fauci can provide some prospect of a normal future, in contrast to the murky reality described by our current politicians.
Since Trump is a major proprietor of OWS, it’s easy to assume that he would accept and follow their information, approval time, and administration of the vaccine. Yet, this optimistic assumption strays far from reality. In a recent campaign call relating to the pandemic, Trump commented on Dr. Fauci, calling him, “a disaster who has been around for 500 years.” Later, in reference to Fauci again and other health officials, he said, “People are tired of hearing Fauci and these idiots.” This lack of transparency from the Trump administration drastically lowers the trust that Americans once had in national leaders.
On the other hand, at the Vice Presidential Debate when Kamala Harris was asked if she would receive a vaccine administered by the Trump administration, she answered, “if the doctors tell us we should take it, I’ll be the first in line to take it, absolutely.” The Biden campaign’s faith in medical professionals, along with its promise to “listen to science,” reassures the American people that a vaccine under our next president Biden will be far safer and more effective than one under our previous.
With all of this information circulating, I decided to direct my inquiry locally by surveying students at ABRHS, asking if they would be willing to receive a vaccine at the end of 2020. Nora Michnovitz, a sophomore in the Remote Learning Program (RLP) said, “If it wasn’t FDA approved, I definitely wouldn’t feel safe getting the vaccine.” Ashnaa Kunall, a senior in the RLP, spoke to the importance of compassion and selflessness during this time. “The things I want to do are great and would be fun, but they represent a clear sign of privilege. Addressing it under the lens of our political climate, minority groups are disproportionately affected by COVID-19; this is a fact that people are so freely willing to ignore.”
From the simple explanations to the passionate words of AB students, there’s a resounding majority of “no’s” in response to this prompt. No one knows with certainty what this vaccine is like. Sure, it would be fantastic to receive a vaccine that diminishes the chance of infection, but who knows if that can happen right now. We don’t want to be the first in line if this is an experimental drug, but we also understand the importance of global vaccinations. For now, it seems, we will just have to wait for more information and a clear plan from those in charge.
This September, in a study by Pew Research Center, 51% of adults said they would be willing to receive a coronavirus vaccine. Why are these numbers so low? Well, 77% of American adults think it is very or somewhat likely that a COVID-19 vaccine will be approved in the United States before fully understanding its safety and efficacy because companies have revealed little about the vaccine’s prospects and timeline.
As a reminder, on May 8th, when there were 33 million jobless claims and a death toll of 90 thousand, President Donald Trump said, “This is going to go away without a vaccine.” At that point during the pandemic, Americans could see that the numbers of cases continued to grow as their situation only became more bleak. When our nation was there most vulnerable, our administration failed to acknowledge that a vaccine was even necessary.
Perhaps the numbers of vaccine hopefuls would increase if we knew that the vaccine was trusted by medical professionals like Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fortunately, Dr. Fauci has expressed support for government efforts to produce a vaccine, including Operation Warp Speed (OWS), which aims to quicken the development, manufacturing, and distribution of the vaccine. Dr. Fauci has publicly praised this organization over the past few months, easing worries and reassuring the public that they are in the hands of trusted medical professionals.
Dr. Fauci has also debunked the notion that the organization’s vaccine will not be fully approved. In an interview with Albert Rizzo, he said, “[The OWS] has a connotation of almost reckless speed, and it's not...It's really the advances in platform technology that have allowed us to do things in a matter of months that usually takes literally years.”
Thankfully, today fifty vaccines are in development. According to a New York Times article on the timeline of a vaccine, eleven vaccines are now in stage three trials, meaning the vaccines are currently being tested on thousands of people. There have been “promising results” from these major trials.
However, the president and those in charge of handling this pandemic have not been announcing and releasing this information. For some reason, it is up to us to figure out which companies to trust. Luckily, Dr. Fauci can provide some prospect of a normal future, in contrast to the murky reality described by our current politicians.
Since Trump is a major proprietor of OWS, it’s easy to assume that he would accept and follow their information, approval time, and administration of the vaccine. Yet, this optimistic assumption strays far from reality. In a recent campaign call relating to the pandemic, Trump commented on Dr. Fauci, calling him, “a disaster who has been around for 500 years.” Later, in reference to Fauci again and other health officials, he said, “People are tired of hearing Fauci and these idiots.” This lack of transparency from the Trump administration drastically lowers the trust that Americans once had in national leaders.
On the other hand, at the Vice Presidential Debate when Kamala Harris was asked if she would receive a vaccine administered by the Trump administration, she answered, “if the doctors tell us we should take it, I’ll be the first in line to take it, absolutely.” The Biden campaign’s faith in medical professionals, along with its promise to “listen to science,” reassures the American people that a vaccine under our next president Biden will be far safer and more effective than one under our previous.
With all of this information circulating, I decided to direct my inquiry locally by surveying students at ABRHS, asking if they would be willing to receive a vaccine at the end of 2020. Nora Michnovitz, a sophomore in the Remote Learning Program (RLP) said, “If it wasn’t FDA approved, I definitely wouldn’t feel safe getting the vaccine.” Ashnaa Kunall, a senior in the RLP, spoke to the importance of compassion and selflessness during this time. “The things I want to do are great and would be fun, but they represent a clear sign of privilege. Addressing it under the lens of our political climate, minority groups are disproportionately affected by COVID-19; this is a fact that people are so freely willing to ignore.”
From the simple explanations to the passionate words of AB students, there’s a resounding majority of “no’s” in response to this prompt. No one knows with certainty what this vaccine is like. Sure, it would be fantastic to receive a vaccine that diminishes the chance of infection, but who knows if that can happen right now. We don’t want to be the first in line if this is an experimental drug, but we also understand the importance of global vaccinations. For now, it seems, we will just have to wait for more information and a clear plan from those in charge.
