Former FDA chief estimates only a third of the US population wants the COVID vaccine



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The former Food and Drug Administration commissioner shared concerns that the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations will be slowed by a large number of vaccine refusals, predicting that only a third of the U.S. population will volunteer for the vaccine. ‘innoculation.

Dr Scott Gottlieb raised his concerns in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday morning, saying many young people who are not at risk of facing serious illness may refuse to be vaccinated.

So far, 10.5 million Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, out of the 31 million doses distributed to states, according to the latest available data from the CDC.

Dr Anthony Fauci has estimated that up to 80% of the US population, or some 260 million people, will need to be vaccinated to gain herd immunity, at which time the virus cannot spread widely.

Dr Scott Gottlieb on Tuesday expressed fears that the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations would be slowed down by large numbers of Americans refusing the vaccine.

Dr Scott Gottlieb on Tuesday expressed fears that the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations would be slowed down by large numbers of Americans refusing the vaccine.

“At some point, demand is going to become an issue,” Gottlieb said in the interview, noting that last fall the number of people receiving a flu shot hit an all-time high, but was still than 120 million.

“ These were people who were worried about bringing out COVID and getting the flu shot. Perhaps this is the universe of people who really have a significant demand for a COVID vaccine, ”he said.

“There is going to be a high demand even in the younger cohorts, but I think once we get to 100 million, even 120 million vaccines, the demand will decrease,” he added.

“ We said access is the real challenge right now, and now we’re talking about sourcing because we’re starting to reach a stable state of supply and it’s hard to increase supply in the short term. term, ” Gottlieb said. . “At some point, demand is going to become an issue.

“We cannot lose sight of this and take it for granted that everyone wants this vaccine,” he said.

Joseph Leblanc receives Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday at John Knox Village in Pompano Beach, Florida

Joseph Leblanc receives Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday at John Knox Village in Pompano Beach, Florida

Latest Pew Research poll on the matter shows 60% of Americans say they would definitely or likely get a coronavirus vaccine

Latest Pew Research poll on the matter shows 60% of Americans say they would definitely or likely get a coronavirus vaccine

Meanwhile, in New York state, nearly a third of nursing home workers have refused to be vaccinated, the governor’s office told The New York Times.

In some cases, the staff who declined the vaccine outnumbered those who were vaccinated. On Long Island, 46 percent were down while 34 percent were vaccinated.

The governor of Ohio previously said 60% of workers at nursing homes in that state refused to be vaccinated.

The latest Pew Research poll on the matter shows 60% of Americans say they would definitely or probably get a coronavirus vaccine if it were available today.

This was up from 51% who said the same thing in September. However, about four in ten still say they definitely would not or probably not get a vaccine.

About half of this reluctant group – or 18% of American adults – say they may change their mind once people start getting vaccinated and more information becomes available.

President-elect Joe Biden has vowed to immunize 100 million people in his first 100 days in office.

His plan includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Guard to build coronavirus vaccination clinics across the United States.

Biden’s new CDC director said the new administration plans to bring in military and medical students to speed up the deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Dr Rochelle Walensky told Good Morning America’s George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday morning that the CDC will task military medics, retirees, and nursing and medical students to make sure there are enough people “ on the ground ” to get shots in the arms of the Americans.

Walensky said they would also make the vaccine more “ accessible ” by launching mobile vans and giving more doses to pharmacies, as she promised the incoming administration will focus on “ the science. ”

She did not say in the brief interview whether the government would change any of the eligibility requirements for people to get vaccinated, or whether it would leave more decision to the states.

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