How to feel confident that a COVID-19 vaccine is safe
Many Americans are questioning the safety and effectiveness of a planned coronavirus vaccine, and are wary of a trial and approval process that seems to be moving very quickly. Yahoo News medical contributor Dr. Dara Kass explains how the public can feel confident about the safety of a COVID-19 vaccine when it’s available — which may be crucial to defeating the virus and returning to normal life in the U.S.
Video Transcript
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DARA KASS: Popular opinion around a coronavirus vaccine has shifted dramatically. We have seen a large number of people who previously said they would take a coronavirus vaccine now say, mm, not so sure and I think I'll wait. So what happens if tomorrow somebody announces that there is a vaccine and you should take it? What do you do?
The best way to know if a vaccine is safe and effective, when it comes out, is to wait for the data-- for the companies that are making the vaccine to make their data available and transparent, for scientists to look at that data and interpret it, publish it in a peer reviewed journal, and then let us communicate that to you. It's not the time for everyone in the world to become a vaccine specialist or to try to interpret intermittent data themselves before the trials are completed.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We remain on track to deliver a vaccine before the end of the year and maybe even before November 1st.
DARA KASS: One of the concerns people might have is that the process of approving a vaccine may be politically motivated. A recent ABC News poll showed that 69% of Americans do not have confidence in the vaccine, even if President Trump says it's safe. Vaccine confidence and safety should be communicated by scientists and doctors-- not by politicians and elected leaders. We also shouldn't expect that the timeline for a coronavirus vaccine should be correlated in any way to an election or a political landmark.
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: It's called Operation Warp Speed. Its objective is to finish developing and then to manufacture and distribute a proven coronavirus vaccine as fast as possible.
DARA KASS: Some people are looking at the timeline, and that's making them hesitant alone. How could a vaccine that is generated this quickly possibly be safe or effective? And the truth is the investment of resources, both by the federal government and private industry, are allowing us to move faster than ever before. We have never had such a large investment in multiple vaccines for a single virus at one time in this country. So although the process does seem very fast, that's not a reason not to trust it. It's just a reason to say we'd like to see the data when it's ready.
- Some anti-vaccine advocates have been working hard, creating fear of a future coronavirus vaccine.
DARA KASS: The best way to know if you're getting misinformation or just listening to somebody that is appropriately skeptical of a process that seems to be going very, very quickly is to look at the other things that they have said. Are they a trusted voice? Are they somebody that otherwise encourages you to follow the science? Or are they somebody that's telling you the vaccine is never going to work and this is all a hoax? This is not a hoax. There are things we need to do to keep our families and our friends and ourselves protected. And eventually that will include a safe and effective vaccine.
So the idea that regular people out there are trying to interpret vaccine trial data or even understand how a vaccine is generated is kind of like figuring out how the sausage is made, rather than just go into a store and buying it after it's done. Remember that when the vaccine finishes its trials and the science is published, there are people that are qualified, that are experts in whether or not a vaccine is safe and effective. And they will tell us when this is ready, remembering that it's going to take a while for any vaccine to get disseminated to the general population enough to get us to the kind of immunity we need to get back to normal.
So the most important thing you can do right now is listen to the scientist, but really wear a mask. Stay apart from people you don't know. Wash your hands regularly. And get tested if you're symptomatic. Controlling this right now is a lot more about public health than it is about a vaccine, but eventually we will have a safe and effective vaccine that will get us where we need to be.
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