Demand for COVID vaccines expected to get hot — and fast

Americans haven’t kept their skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccine secret this year, fearing that political interference and the “warp speed” timeline have dampened confidence in the shot. Just recently in September Nearly half A percentage of adults in the United States said they did not intend to get vaccinated.

But perhaps with two promising vaccines ready for release within a few weeks, ethics and vaccination behavior professionals will rapidly shift their attitudes from widespread hesitation to urgent and even enthusiastic demand. He says he is expecting that.

“People say that people who are vaccinated can take a kind of squelch. I haven’t seen it happen,” he said. Paul OfitPhiladelphia Children’s Hospital Vaccine Scientist Tells Viewers Recent JAMA Network Webinar.. “This is similar to the Beanie Babies phenomenon to me. The charm of the limited edition.”

Report of vaccines manufactured by pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech And modern He deliberately emphasized science-based guidance from the upcoming Biden administration, and said that while it seems safe and effective, it is likely to significantly reverse uncertainty. Arthur Caplan, Director of Medical Ethics, New York University School of Medicine.

“I think it will upset the issue of trust,” he said.

The shift is already clear. New poll By the end of November, 60% of Americans said they would be vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to the Pew Research Center. Even when a federal advisory group met this month to develop guidelines for vaccine distribution, many advocacy groups lobbyed state and federal authorities, from representatives of home health care workers and community health centers to patients with kidney disease. I was doing activities. We hope that their components will be prioritized for the first scarce dose.

“There are certainly a lot of jokes as vaccines get closer to reality,” said Katie Smith Sloan, CEO of Leading Age, a nonprofit organization that promotes the inclusion of care center staff and patients. I will. In the highest priority category.

Indeed, some consumers have said they remain vigilant. Rupali Limaye, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Social and Behavioral Health Scientist at the Graduate School of Public Health. Even if the details of the trial are released and the review process becomes more transparent, fears that pharmaceutical companies and regulators may cut corners to speed up the prolongation of the vaccine. Some healthcare professionals at the forefront of the shot don’t want to go first.

Some would say, “Wait a little longer for safety data,” Limaye said.

However, once the use of the vaccine is approved and widely distributed, these doubts are likely to recede, according to the FDA Advisory Board set up to consider the emergency permit request filed by Pfizer and Moderna. Sit Ofit said.

He predicted that demand for COVID vaccines could rival the turmoil that occurred in 2004, when production problems caused a serious shortage of flu immunization shortly after the flu season began. .. It led to ethical debates about long lines, ration distribution, and distribution.

“It was a highly desirable vaccine,” Offit said. “I think in many ways that may happen here.”

Initially, vaccine supply is tight, with federal authorities planning to ship 6.4 million doses within 24 hours of FDA approval and up to 40 million doses by the end of the year. CDC Panel recommended The first shot is directed at 21 million healthcare professionals and 3 million nursing home staff and residents in the United States before being deployed to other groups based on a hierarchy of risk factors.

Even before the vaccine was available, some people were trying to increase access, he said. Allison Kempe, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, and expert in vaccine dissemination. “People called me and said,’How can I get the vaccine?'” She said. “I don’t think everyone is willing to wait. That’s true. I don’t think there will be riots on the streets, but it can put pressure on them.”

That would likely include an emotional debate about how, when, and to whom the next dose should be distributed, Kaplan said. According to the CDC’s recommendations, the next vulnerable group includes 87 million workers (a broad and undefined category) whose work is considered “essential” and 53 million adults aged 65 and over. included.

“We’re going to have some fights about high-risk groups,” said NYU’s Kaplan.

The conversation gets complicated. Do prisoners with little control over COVID exposure need to get vaccine priority? What about professional sports teams whose performance can boost the overall morale of society? And what about residents of a facility that cares for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are three times more likely to die of COVID-19 than the general public?

According to Kaplan, the control of vaccination quotas is left to the state, which is where the biggest conflict arises. “I think it’s a short fight in the sense that it will be completed in a few months, but I think it will be quite vocal.”

Perhaps as the vaccine supply becomes more abundant by May or June, another consideration will surely boost demand. It is a requirement for proof of COVID vaccination for work and travel.

“It’s inevitable that you’ll see your immune passport and you’ll have to show your certificate on the train, plane, bus, or subway,” Kaplan predicted. “Probably also to enter a particular hospital, perhaps to a particular restaurant or government facility.”

But with a harsh winter surge awaiting and new predictions that COVID-19 will reduce as many as 450,000 Americans by February, the tragic reality of the disease is undoubtedly sufficient demand for vaccination. Will stimulate.

“People now know who has been infected with COVID, who has been hospitalized, or who unfortunately died,” Limaye said.

“We are looking at this now,” Kempe said. “Even denialists are beginning to see what the disease can do.”

This story was created by Kaiser Health News, Editorial independent program Kaiser Family Foundation..