Dr. Anthony Fauci downplayed concerns about the safety of a COVID-19 vaccine during a conversation Tuesday at the 2020 Texas Tribune Festival.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leader in the U.S. response to the novel coronavirus, said Americans should feel confident in the development and efficacy of a vaccine. This comes as a growing majority of people say they are not likely to be immunized as soon as a vaccine is available.
It’s “disturbing” that so many people are reticent to get a vaccine, he said, blaming “mixed messages that have come out of Washington” for waning public trust.
Some public officials, including President Donald Trump, have questioned the credibility of agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration during the pandemic.
Others have viewed Trump’s forecast that a vaccine could be ready by Election Day as politically motivated and expressed fears that the president might sidestep the regulatory process.
Fauci stressed that officials must reach out to their communities to “regain the confidence ... that this is being done to protect them as individuals and to protect our society.”
To reach herd immunity — the point at which enough people are immune to a disease that it doesn’t spread — the community must meet a certain threshold either through vaccination or from previously contracting the virus. Experts worry that if enough people refuse a vaccine, the coronav ..
Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.
