Vaccine Approval Looks Imminent, But Distrust, Misinformation Have Experts Worried
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 9 December 2020
⏱️ 14 minutes
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Summary
Speaking to NPR this week, FDA head Dr. Stephen Hahn reiterated the government's commitment to vaccine safety. But public opinion polls suggest many Americans are still skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines, and misinformation about them has been spreading online.
Renee DiResta of the Stanford Internet Observatory tells NPR why misinformation often takes hold where people are not necessarily looking for it.
NPR's Adrian Florido reports public health experts are worried that Latinos and African Americans — communities that are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 — may be less likely to get vaccinated.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It could finally happen on Thursday. |
| 0:03.0 | That's when an FDA advisory committee will meet and vote on whether to grant emergency |
| 0:08.2 | use authorization and EUA for U.S. distribution of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer. |
| 0:15.3 | We're expecting a good discussion there of the data. |
| 0:19.1 | And then we believe shortly after that meeting, we'll be able to make a decision. |
| 0:24.1 | Dr. Seavid Han is head of the FDA. |
| 0:26.9 | He spoke to NPR earlier this week after his agency put out a statement about the Pfizer |
| 0:31.2 | vaccine, which was recently approved and began distribution in the UK. |
| 0:36.2 | When it comes to that vaccine, the FDA said that there are, quote, no specific safety concerns |
| 0:41.8 | identified that would preclude issuance of an EUA. |
| 0:45.4 | And the conclusions that you just read are formed by our career scientists who look very |
| 0:52.4 | detailed in a detailed way at the safety, but also the efficacy of the vaccine. |
| 0:58.2 | And so that is very, very important part of our promising American people that we |
| 1:03.0 | won't cut corners in how we assess the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine. |
| 1:08.6 | Whether enough Americans are hearing that promise is another question. |
| 1:12.6 | Public polling is revealed as many as 40% of Americans are expressing reluctance to get |
| 1:17.6 | a coronavirus vaccine and misinformation on the topic is rampant online. |
| 1:22.6 | It's a really, really, really powerful parallel pandemic to the real pandemic. |
| 1:27.9 | Imran Ahmed studies misinformation on the internet. |
| 1:31.0 | He CEO of the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate. |
| 1:34.8 | That group found people who rely on social media for information about the pandemic are |
| 1:39.1 | less likely to say they would get a coronavirus vaccine. |
... |
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