Daily US Times: A 57-year-old retired nurse from Florida, Susan Bailey, has had all her jabs and gets a flu shot every year. She is one of a growing number of people globally who say they wouldn’t take a coronavirus vaccine even if one becomes available soon.
“I’m not anti-vaccine. My kids were both vaccinated with everything, but I would not take a Covid vaccine today,” Bailey, a vocal Joe Biden supporter told.
“I have underlying health issues … I would want to see enough studies in a long-term period of what the ramifications are for the vaccine,” she added while talking with CNN.
Bailey said she doesn’t trust US President Donald Trump, and that consensus around a coronavirus vaccine among the world’s top scientists and at least six months of testing would be just “a start” in persuading her to take it.
“It’s much too soon for me, I’d have to say, 18 months,” she said.
Her concern is echoed by a significant proportion of adults all over the world, who reject the extreme views of the anti-vaccine community, but at the same time say they have major concerns about a coronavirus jab.
Neil Johnson, a physicist at George Washington University who is studying vaccine skepticism on social media, told that the four most common objections are: safety; whether a vaccine is needed; trust of the establishment and pharmaceutical companies; and perceived uncertainty in the science.
To see how widespread hesitancy is, he suggests asking your friends and family whether they would take a Covid-19 medication if one were available now.
He said: “I would be surprised if you ask 10 people and you get all 10 jumping and saying yes without adding any caveats.”
Doubts over Covid-19 vaccine
Scientists say vaccines are our most effective tool in combating infectious diseases like Covid-19. Numerous studies have proven that they are safe. Top US epidemiologist Dr. Anthony Fauci said that widespread uptake of a coronavirus vaccine could end the pandemic and a study in The Lancet medical journal found that it was the only way to fully end lockdowns.
Yet an Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs online poll from May indicated half of Americans would hesitate to take or refuse a Covid-19 vaccine, and a study by King’s College London last week found similar results in the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the US’s top infectious doctor Anthony Fauci said if the United States allowed coronavirus infections to run rampant to achieve possible herd immunity, the death toll would be massive, especially among vulnerable people.
You may read: Fauci uttered grave warning about herd immunity
