A COVID-19 vaccine still hasn’t emerged but some are already wary of it – Ponca City News

CHICAGO - Christina Glover gets a flu shot each year and has always ensured her daughters pediatric vaccines are on schedule.

Yet the 36-year-old from the South Side of Chicago said shed be nervous about getting a COVID-19 vaccine once one emerges and hits the market.

Its the fact that its new, Glover said. You have your right to be concerned about anything - vaccines, any type of medication - you have a right to be concerned with how its going to interact with your body. ... You want to see the reaction its going to have on other people.

As scientists across the globe race to create a COVID-19 vaccine that is safe and effective, the American public appears sharply divided when it comes to the prospect of getting vaccinated against the new virus, which has so far infected roughly 5.5 million and killed more than 172,000 in the United States.

A survey earlier this week from NBC News/SurveyMonkey Weekly Tracking Poll showed that more than half of American adults either wouldnt get a COVID-19 vaccine once one is available or are unsure whether theyll get immunized. The poll found 44% said they would get the vaccine, while 22% reported they wouldnt get one and another 32% remain uncertain.

A Gallup survey earlier this month indicated that 35% of Americans would not get a free vaccine against COVID-19, if one were available and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Another 65% responded that they would get the shot, with those identifying as Democrats far more in favor than Republicans.

Political leaders and health experts have taken up the challenge of getting the public on board, calling a future COVID-19 vaccine the key to fighting the virus and a return to normalcy. Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said Illinois wont be able to move on to phase five of the state reopening plan until a vaccine or highly effective treatment is widely available, or new cases are eliminated over a sustained period.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot earlier this month announced plans for a vaccine education initiative, fearing some residents will have reservations about getting a COVID-19 immunization.

I worry that even once we get a vaccine, that because of the speed with which its going to be brought into production, that people are going to be reluctant to take it, Lightfoot had said. So were starting now to do a lot of education about vaccines in general.

As for Glover, she said she recognizes the tension between individual health care rights versus the need to quell an international pandemic.

As a licensed practical nurse, she said she might have to get a future COVID-19 vaccine if it becomes required by her employer. And Glover said she understands the gravity of the illness: She said she contracted the coronavirus in late March. She suffered from aches, chest pains, a sore throat, shortness of breath and a loss of taste and smell through early April.

But she believes everyone should have the right to make their own medical decisions, noting that some might have religious objections or other personal concerns. While she always gets immunized to protect herself against the flu, she said she doesnt judge others who forgo the shot.

I just believe people should have a choice, they should be able to decline if they dont want to get it, she said. I understand why health care facilities would want to make it mandatory to help prevent the spread. But at the same time, to each their own. Its an individual choice.

William Taylor, 36, of the Lakeview neighborhood, said hes eager to get a coronavirus vaccine, even an early version of the vaccine if it were available to me.

I am hopeful that we could see a vaccine sooner than usual because of the serious upheaval (COVID-19) has caused and all of the resources being thrown at this, he said.

While there is no vaccine available yet, about two dozen potential COVID-19 vaccines are in various stages of testing across the globe. The Trump administration project Operation Warp Speed has dedicated billions of taxpayer dollars to fast-track a safe, effective and widely distributed vaccine against the new virus, with the goal of producing 300 million doses by January. The nations top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, last month said he remained cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine by the end of this year and as we go into 2021.

Yet once a vaccine is available, getting the greater public on board and immunized could be the next hurdle.

I personally will not, said Lisa Casas, 54, of west suburban Itasca. The flu vaccine has been around forever and most years its not even the correct strain. I dont believe in vaccines for viruses.

While Casas has sidestepped the flu shot, she said she made sure her daughters had childhood vaccines required for school.

I believe being healthy, eating right and exercise help to fight viruses and diseases, she added. But in saying that, it should still be everyones choice as to what they do with their health.

Public health officials already have some difficulty convincing adults to get flu shots each year. A poll in late 2019 showed 37% of adults didnt plan to get the flu vaccine that season, according to research from NORC at the University of Chicago. Some reasons for forgoing the shot included concerns about side effects, a belief that the vaccine didnt work very well, the respondent reported never getting the flu and a dislike for needles, according to the survey.

Policymakers and medical experts also face opposition from anti-vaxxers, individuals and groups opposed to vaccines already on the market, whose opinions are often based on discredited research or debunked claims linking vaccines to other illnesses.

Even though no vaccine currently exists, an online petition opposing mandatory COVID-19 vaccines on the website LifeSite has garnered more than 800,000 signatures. Tens of thousands have also signed a change.org petition opposing mandatory COVID-19 vaccines in Canada.

Freedom and individual choice are main themes in both petitions.

We have managed to convince ourselves that the people whose healths are affected by a virus are much more important than the people whose lives, freedoms and livelihoods are being destroyed by this same virus, the Canadian petition reads.

Sometimes perceptions of the severity of the virus can shape vaccination views. David Cassiere, 52, of west suburban Sleepy Hollow, said he would most likely not get a COVID-19 vaccine, mostly due to concerns over possible side effects.

I would not be one of the first people lined up, he said.

He said the only way hed be convinced is if 99% or more of those immunized dont contract the virus - and even then hed likely wait at least a couple of seasons or calendar years to learn more about its safety.

Cassiere added that he fears the economic devastation caused by quarantines and stay-in-place orders more than he fears the actual virus.

I think weve erred too far restricting peoples livelihoods and commerce by quarantining everybody rather than asking people who are more at risk to do quarantining themselves, he said. Im not saying Illinois is wrong and Wisconsin is right - but I think there are other states that might be more in the middle, that are closer to having it right.

Like Cassiere, some Chicago-area residents who expressed reluctance to get vaccinated against COVID-19 were concerned about possible side effects; others worried about contracting the coronavirus from the shot, even though most of the leading vaccine candidates currently being tested dont contain a live virus and wouldnt cause infection.

Public uncertainty about whether to get a vaccine that hasnt even been developed doesnt surprise Dr. Kelly Michelson, professor of pediatrics and director of the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

First of all, and I think importantly, there is no vaccine now, said Michelson, who is also an attending physician at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital. We dont really have the relevant information. Is it an effective vaccine? How effective is it? ... So it doesnt surprise me that people are unwilling to commit to taking a vaccine they know nothing about.

Once more is known about a future coronavirus vaccine, communication between patients and clinicians will play an important role, Michelson said.

She says good information and an open dialogue can often allay the concerns of patients who have questions about existing vaccines that have been around for years, with proven records of safety and effectiveness.

The vaccines that we have on the market that are currently tested, we have a good amount of information about, and I can say with certainty that people should get their flu vaccines, that its good for them, she said. If we do have a coronavirus vaccine, its going to be very important for clinicians - and for the public - to have good information about what it is.

Michael Barrett, 70, of northwest Indiana, said he looks forward to the day when a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available.

I would have no problem with it, even with limited trials, said Barrett, who was born and raised in Chicago but now lives in the Chesterton, Indiana, area. Weve got way more to gain at our age than to not try it. Its crazy not to. Hopefully if everyone gets it, life can go back to normal.

Hes concerned that some parts of the country are reopening too quickly, spurring outbreaks of the virus. Even as governments are loosening regulations, he believes that many retirees and individuals with underlying health conditions will continue to be worried about venturing out, further hampering the economy.

He wants to go out to dinner with family and friends. He and his wife long to travel again.

We so much miss that life we had before the virus, he said.

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A COVID-19 vaccine still hasn't emerged but some are already wary of it - Ponca City News