For those fighting the Covid-19 pandemic - and
those hit hardest by it- a vaccine could be just weeks away, as the Food and
Drug Administration weighs emergency approval for two vaccines. On Tuesday; a
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel recommended that the
first vaccines should go to health care workers and residents and staff of long-term care
facilities. The companies behind the two vaccines; Pfizer and
Moderna; say their vaccines have been shown to e 95% and 94% effective, respectively. But some people who
could be at the front of the line aren't eager to go first, says Dr. Robert
Atmar; a professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and a member of the Advisory
Committee on Immunization Practices that made the
recommendations. ‘We're hearing a lot of hesitation among health care personnel;
and I think a lot of it has to do with the politicized nature of the vaccine
development and the whole response to the pandemic;’ says Atmar; who also works
in the Harris County hospital system in Texas. ‘We're beginning to roll out
education to our staff to explain exactly what the process has been and to
reassure that there weren't any steps that were skipped’ in the compressed
testing and approval timeline, he tells All Things
Considered.
‘But because of the severity of the pandemic - one person a minute dying in the
United States each day - it really is important to try and take steps that will
be effective in preventing disease.’
Some Health Care Workers Are Wary Of Getting COVID-19 Vaccines
In excerpts from his
interview, Atmar discusses hesitancy among front line medical workers and the
decision to include the elderly in the first priority groups. Let's start with the recommendations. It makes
sense that health care workers should get first access. Do you have any
concerns about that second group of elderly, possibly sick, people getting it?
I'm wondering if there's enough data to show that it (a) works and (b) will be
safe in that population? I think that was the main concern that the ACIP
considered. The problem is that this is
a group that has not specifically been studied in the clinical trials that have
been done to date. And we know from flu vaccine studies that residents in long term
care facilities tend to respond less well to the vaccine than other
individuals. So there is some concern that it may not work; but it's reasonable
to think that there will be at least some protection, and the burden of
disease, and particularly that 40% of deaths in the U.S. have occurred in long-term care
facilities; really argues that if there's any way we can protect
them; to try and do so.
Do you still have outstanding questions about
either of the leading vaccine candidates that you would want answers to before
vaccinating your colleagues?
I will want to review
the data, and particularly the safety data. We know that individuals will have
some side effects. I think knowing exactly what the reactions are to be
expected will reassure individuals who are going to receive the vaccine.
If you are hearing hesitation from health care
workers, from front line people, how do you expect to persuade the rest of
Texas, the wider population?
Many of the health care
workers I've spoken to; who have expressed concern to me; don't necessarily
want to be in the first group - even though they're prioritized for the first
group - but want to see for themselves how their friends and colleagues respond
to the vaccine. I understand that's human nature; but I certainly plan on being
a model - if either vaccine becomes available and is recommended by the ACIP -
to demonstrate my confidence in the vaccine and the whole review and approval
process.
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