Impact of anti-vaxx movement: What if only half of the country was vaccinated with Covid?

the first Coronavirus vaccine Received an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDAThis month, however, how effective the treatment is in stopping the pandemic depends on public confidence in the jab.

Doctor Anthony Fauci, US experts estimate that about 75-80% will be the optimal number to vaccinate within the next few months in order to return to a “normal” state.

Unfortunately, According to the release, only 53 percent of the population is likely to opt for vaccination.

Without public approval, experts warn of high mortality as the virus continues to proliferate through vulnerable populations that have not been vaccinated. As the pandemic expands, Americans need to continue to practice coronavirus prevention guidelines such as wearing masks and social distance. Longer to reach group immunity-if it can be reached.

“Impact [of low vaccination levels] Dr. Catherine Stephenson, Director of the Clinical Trials Unit at the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Harvard University’s Beth Israel Deacones Medical Center, said: Independent..

“First, if the vaccine’s immunity is weakened, or at that time, a pocket of ongoing infection in one community can cause new outbreaks in all communities in the future, but second. , And more importantly, it can significantly exacerbate the already serious health inequalities between communities. ”

Health officials rely on fair distribution of vaccines throughout the United States and within various “social groups” of the population to prevent new infections from causing hospitalizations and mortality spikes in vulnerable communities. is needed.

All of this depends on increasing public approval of the vaccine.

Dr. Stephenson said experts vaccinated about 60% of Americans in a particular “social circle” to “reverse the pace of new infections so that this pandemic could be completely ended.” He said he expected to receive it. This number works only if the vaccine works. It has been proven to prevent transmission to others.

“It’s really important how we define social circles,” said Dr. Stevenson. “If there are pockets of groups that are socially separated from each other, low uptake in one of those groups means that outbreaks will continue in that group.”

Dr. Stevenson added that geography, religion, economics, and race are all reasons why groups of people can be separated. This affects how well the vaccine works, depending on how the vaccine is distributed.

The coronavirus pandemic has been hit harder by the widening social, economic and health inequality exacerbated by the new virus.

Lack of health care, testing, and treatment has been found in these communities throughout the United States. Therefore, even with the introduction of the coronavirus vaccine, it remains a challenge for public health authorities to provide access and acceptance of this vaccine to these communities.

Dr. Lisa Malagakiss, Senior Director of Infection Prevention at the John Hopkins Health System, said: Independent..

“I’m talking about including the populations at highest risk of serious consequences of infection: minority communities, vulnerable populations, and people experiencing homelessness,” she added.

The black community is distrustful of the American healthcare system because of past treatments, and belief providers do not act in their best interests. Historically, the medical system used black bodies without consent for treatment or progress, leading to current distrust.

71% of African Americans know who was hospitalized or died COVID-19According to a recent survey by, only about 42% of respondents are currently vaccinated. Pew Research Center..

By comparison, the survey found that more than 60% of Hispanic and Caucasian adults were vaccinated.

Therefore, lack of vaccine approval can further exacerbate the number of blacks who are hospitalized disproportionately and die of Covid-19.

“Unvaccinated and vulnerable people can continue to be infected with the virus, which can have very serious consequences,” said Dr. Malagakiss. “The really ideal is to reach a place with a wide range of levels or protection and a very high level of immunity everywhere so that we can all sigh of relief.”

In her opinion, it is best for at least 70% of the population to have a combination of “innate immunity from previous infections” and vaccine immunity. There are over 330 million Americans. The coronavirus vaccine is the largest distribution campaign the country has ever made.

Through the coronavirus pandemic, it has been suggested that creating natural herd immunity among the general public by infecting low-risk populations with the virus may be one corresponding method.

However, Dr. Malagakis warned the general public that herd immunity from natural infections would only protect them.

“This infection has a very high mortality rate compared to other infectious diseases such as influenza, so so many people die unnecessarily and absolutely reach herd immunity by natural infection. I don’t want to, “she said.

Instead, the vaccine accelerates herd immunity and helps the population reach “a level of immunity that protects the majority of the population,” she said.

People who were previously infected with the new virus, as well as those who were vaccinated, were advised to wear a mask and stay at a social distance to prevent Covid-19 from spreading to others. It is also advisable to get the vaccine even if you are already infected with Covid-19.

“We know we can’t get 100% immunity to the population, but if we can get it high enough, we’ll stop the virus infection and protect the most vulnerable of us without immunity.” Said Dr. Malagakiss.

The focus is on vaccination of the general public, both domestically and worldwide, because of how the virus has traveled between communities.

For example, high vaccination rates in the Maritime Region quickly control the Covid-19 epidemic if the same rate is not experienced in the Midwest, given how Americans travel throughout the year. I can not do it.

However, divisions between small “social groups” in the state that primarily interact with each other can also affect a wide range of public vaccination campaigns. Public health authorities need to identify where these social groups are and provide both vaccine information and access. This is essential to prevent certain communities from suffering from long-term infection and mortality.

“We often think that the population is more mixed than it really is,” said Dr. Stephenson. For example, a map of Boston is a permanent, complete separation between the black and white communities based on the blocks they live in. Is shown. “

“If the black community is less involved [in the vaccine] Compared to the white community, disproportionate mortality will continue to tremendously separate from three times the white mortality rate to much higher. ”

This means that outbreaks are more likely to “last for much longer in these communities” than those who are taking the vaccine.

“In the meantime, you can imagine a white community entering the’green’zone, with schools opening,” Dr. Stephenson added. “The long-term impact on inequality is immeasurable.”

Global vaccination scale will also be paid attention to because of how travel can continue to help spread the virus to communities around the world.

“It is in our greatest interest to care that there is ample vaccine supply around the world and fair distribution around the world so that everyone is protected,” said Dr. Malagakiss. Said.

next Pfizer The launch of the coronavirus vaccine in the United States reported news of potential new strains of the new virus emerging in the United Kingdom, raising concerns about mutations and their effects on jabs.

The problem began when British Health Minister Matt Hancock announced on Monday that more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus identified in southeastern England showed genetic mutations that could be causing the surge. I did.

However, so far, there have been no reports of high mortality or sufficient differences to affect vaccine efficacy between different strains of Covid-19. However, scientists have been paying attention to mutations in case they can affect treatment.

“Mutation concerns are one of the reasons why we want to go as soon as possible to achieve high levels of vaccination,” she added. “But more importantly, we know that the virus is everywhere now. At least it’s booming. In the Northern Hemisphere. So for me, immunizing as many people as possible as soon as possible. Is really urgent. “

Experts will continue to gain optimistic public approval as more and more people are vaccinated in the coming months and other companies deploy their own coronavirus vaccines. According to the Axios-Ipsos poll, public approval has already risen from the 38% recorded in October to the current estimate of 53%.

“I’m encouraged to believe that more than half of the population accepts vaccines and this is the good news we believe is in medicine and public health,” said Dr. Malagakiss. ..

It is now the responsibility of public health authorities to further build that trust by educating all U.S. communities about the effectiveness of vaccines and ensuring that distribution is fair to all at-risk populations. She added.

“Since science has led to the development, scientific review and approval of these vaccines, we would like to encourage everyone to seek reliable, preferably medical institutions for the information they need and to be vaccinated.”