We Need a COVID-19 Vaccine. We Also Need Transparency About Its Development

The authorization of an effective vaccine will mark perhaps the biggest turning point in the battle against coronavirus, but only if enough people are willing to get vaccinated. There have been substantial declines in public willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19, despite immense, unprecedented public investments in vaccine development. In one survey, barely half of Americans said they would get the vaccine as soon as it was available, numbers that will undermine the benefits of even a highly effective vaccine. It is no mystery why trust in a potential vaccine has plummeted. Operation Warp Speed, the Trump Administration’s $10 billion vaccine initiative, and other vaccine efforts have compressed processes that usually take years into months. This speed alone can raise concerns, but to date, that pace has been matched with strict adherence to the basic principles of scientific integrity. However, increasing politicization of key regulatory bodies and unexplained decisions in trial procedures threaten to undermine the entire project. We need a lot more transparency in this process to ensure that only a vaccine proven by data to be safe and effective will be approved. Unlike medical treatments given to the sick, vaccines are given to healthy people. Historically, vaccines have been very safe and highly effective due to the rigor and care of both the scientists conducting the trials, and the regulators deciding whether to approve vaccines for public use. Even rare ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news