SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A group of health experts invited by the Poynter Institute met Monday to answer an array of questions about the COVID-19 vaccines.
“The path out of this pandemic now has some light,” said Patricia Stinchfield, a registered nurse, and president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. “The vaccine does not do any good if it stays in the bottle. So we’re done with the vaccine, we’re on to vaccination now.”
She explained how the technology of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna has changed the game.
“It’s sort of like we’ve gone from the covered wagon to the jet,” Stinchfield said.
The panel also discussed the three people in the UK reported to have had allergic responses to the vaccine.
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said while health officials first warned people prone to allergy responses to avoid getting the vaccine, the advice has changed.
“The recommendation is if you’ve ever had a severe allergic reaction to an injectable product, that you not get this vaccine,” Dr. Offit said.
He also explained what a vaccine being 95% effective really means.
“So let’s say it’s 95% effective against disease,” he proposed. “That means you may be that one in 20 who, when you’re exposed to the virus, is not protected.”
The panel also discussed when people might be able to resume a normal life as soon as their vaccinated.
“At first, you do need to keep wearing a mask and social distancing and washing your hands,” Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association said.
She said this is because studies are ongoing.
“The verdict is still out on whether or not you can transmit the virus to someone else after you’ve had the vaccine,” Dr. Bailey said.
Stinchfield said her biggest fear is people are going to think everything is connected to the vaccine, and this could hurt people’s trust in the vaccine.
“As we roll this out across the country, there will be bumps in the road," Stinchfield admitted. "There will be people who get vaccinated and shortly thereafter die or get a disease or cancer or something. And that, unfortunately, people will jump to cause and effect. There’s always a backdrop of life, of people who have miscarriages of people who die, of people who develop disease, and that’s going to keep happening with or without this vaccine. So I’m concerned that there is the element of the anti-vaccine world who is so primed to jump one of those and turn the conversation.”
Continue the conversation with Mike on Facebook.
