Next NASA Sigma Series: The science and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines

Barely six months after the first COVID-19 vaccines have been approved, Hampton Roads has gone from not having enough doses to begging people to get one.

How did that happen? Why do people still need to wear a mask if they’re vaccinated? Why are people hesitant to get a vaccine?

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Paul Offit will discuss the available vaccines and clarify what he calls “misinformation” surrounding them, during the next Sigma Series on Tuesday, hosted by NASA Langley Research Center.

“There is only one way out of this pandemic. And that’s vaccines,” Offit said. “It is remarkable that despite what is clear evidence for the effectiveness of these vaccines, and the safety of these vaccines, now that there have been more than 300 million doses, roughly, administered that still people refuse.”

In Virginia, as many as 55.4% of the state’s population has received at least one dose and 45% are fully vaccinated as of Friday, according to the Virginia Department of Health. Nationwide, nearly 51% of the population has had one dose while 41% is fully vaccinated as of Friday, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s website.

“A solid 25% of the population is refusing to be vaccinated. That’s a problem if you’re trying to get to, so called, herd immunity,” Offit said. “What herd immunity means is that you’ve vaccinated enough of the population that makes it very difficult for the, for the virus to spread from one person to the next.”

Offit homes in on four reasons why someone might not be inoculated. Fear of the unknown is one. Having access and hesitancy are two more.

Education and clear compelling information can help combat fear and the unknown, he said. Continuing to bring the vaccine to remote areas can help with access. Some incentive programs, such as getting a free ticket to a ball game or other perk while getting a vaccine may persuade folks.

“Given a nudge, they would get a vaccine,” Offit said.

Then there are those who simply refuse to accept it or will not a get a vaccine without a requirement, he said.

Regarding masks, it’s a respiratory virus, so wearing one is always beneficial to protect yourself and others. Exposure to variants likely won’t signal severe or critical disease, but may trigger mild symptoms, he said. Booster shots depend on how effective this current strategy of vaccines is working.

“I think that these (COVID-19) vaccines will protect you against severe critical disease, for, I would imagine, at least a few years,” he said.

Offit, 70, is the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a professor of pediatrics and vaccinology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, made available more than a decade ago. In more than four decades in medicine, Offit has authored dozens of books and articles on infectious diseases, vaccines, immunology and virology and has garnered numerous awards.

“Like most Americans, I am eager for the pandemic to be over and for life to return to normal. For this to happen, we as a society must achieve herd immunity,” said Robert Scott, associate director for aerosciences at Langley on why the agency invited Offit. “Our future is tied to our ability to convince our fellow citizens that this particular vaccine is safe and necessary.”

Development of vaccines has had missteps, Offit said. Of the pharmaceutical companies that developed vaccines for polio, one did it badly, causing paralysis and death for some. During the early 1960s, when scientists were first developing measles vaccines, one lead to a severe reaction and had to be taken off the market.

Offit said that fewer people had been vaccinated when those issues became apparent.

“‘I never breathed a sigh of relief until the first 3 million doses,’” Offit said, quoting Maurice Hilleman, the late microbiologist who developed more than 40 vaccines, many that are used today. “Well, there’s about 300 million doses out there, so I don’t think there’s any reason to wait anymore. The fact that matter is, this is not a personal decision. It’s a decision you’re making for those with whom you come in contact.”

“I think any medical product that has a positive effect can always have a negative. There’s no such thing as absolute safety. It’s a matter of relative safety and other relative risk. You’re at much greater risk of getting this virus and being hurt by the virus than being hurt by a vaccine.”

NASA Langley Sigma Series “Stopping the COVID Pandemic” is available this link: https://go.nasa.gov/3uD3E6b beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Lisa Vernon Sparks, 757-247-4832, lvernonsparks@dailypress.com