CLEVELAND — According to the World Health Organization, about 70% of the United States will need to take the new COVID-19 vaccine in order to achieve community immunity.
However, public opinion could make that difficult. The latest NBC numbers reveal only about 60% of the country plans to take the new drug.
"I think there have been few, if any, vaccines that have ever been subjected to this level of scrutiny,” Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institute of Health, said Sunday on "Meet The Press." "This was based upon scientific decision-making of the most rigorous sort. It’s up to all of us, just like we did in World War II, to pull together and say, 'We’re going to get through this.'"
But will people? Facebook has banned some of the site’s most popular anti-vaccination accounts, claiming they pushed misinformation to millions of people. Even in the comments sections of 3News' social media pages, people clearly feel there are safety issues.
Heidi Larson leads a cutting-edge team called "The Vaccine Confidence Project," and says" the vaccines must be explained.
"There’s been a lot of attention to 'fast, fast, fast, warp speed,'" Larson said, "but the reality is, they’re faster because we have new technologies."
While anti-vaccine groups may be active around the world, millions of people at 636 sites around the country are now thrilled. This week, the Cleveland Clinic, The MetroHealth, Aultman Hospital in Stark County, and the Cleveland VA will receive their first doses. They come at a critical time.
"We are experiencing a surge," Brett Carroll, vaccine coordinator for the Cleveland area VA, said. "We have our highest numbers that we’ve had since March."
This week, Carroll will begin leading their distribution efforts.
"We expect that our first allotment will be used for first doses for everyone, and a second allotment of the same amount will be shipped to us for everyone’s second dose."
Health care workers and those most at risk will receive the first doses. Medical experts say it could be months before just those groups are vaccinated.
They stress it is not a time to let down your guard--or that mask.
Should you have questions about the vaccine, you may want to check out the CDC’s website where you may find answers to them. Go to cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html for more info.