Harvard expert: Worst case COVID vaccine scenario is if people don’t take it

The worst case scenario when it comes to a potential COVID-19 vaccine is if people don’t want to take it, a Harvard expert and former Obama health secretary said, which would make the pandemic last “indefinitely.”

“Here is the nightmarish scenario — that we have a safe and highly effective COVID-19 vaccine … and then because distrust is so high and lack of confidence is so high, no one wants to take it and that is just not going to be acceptable,” said Dr. Howard Koh, former assistant secretary for health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Koh, taking a question from the Herald during a webcast hosted by the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, said if Americans don’t trust the vaccine and choose not to get it, “this pandemic is going to go on indefinitely.”

Several vaccine candidates are currently in human trials and it’s likely a vaccine won’t be distributed until 2021, but gaining public trust is a key hurdle.

“We need that communication and trust and credibility to be at the absolute highest level,” said Koh, a professor at the Harvard Chan School and the Kennedy School.

Koh said having a proper vaccine rollout will hinge on several key things including a high quality and transparent process, a successful flu vaccine effort, addressing issues with misinformation and taking on a global scope.

“That’s what we need in my view to make sure that people accept the safe and effective vaccine once it’s approved and try to put this pandemic behind once and for all,” said Koh.

Even once a vaccine is available, ditching public health interventions such as wearing a mask won’t happen until herd immunity is reached.

“Public health really means keeping all those preventive interventions going forward,” said Koh, adding, “We need all of it and we’ve got to double down on it.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3jqkKi7