Unfortunately, the race for a Covid-19 vaccine is sounding so political that it is proving to divide Americans by party voting preference. As we are now keenly aware, science and politics do not mix well.
Following the Democratic National Convention, V.P. Mike Pence told CNN: “We think there is a miracle around the corner. We believe it’s very likely that we’ll have one or more vaccines for the coronavirus before the end of this year. All of that’s attributed to President Trump’s leadership.”
As of August 31, the number of confirmed Covid-19 infections in the U.S. has topped 6 million, while national fatalities approach 183,000. Based on state sources in Iowa, there have been 64,102 confirmed cases and 1,110 deaths.
Vaccine speed is desperately needed, but will it come at the expense of accuracy and safety? Should Americans be concerned? Yet, just as important as having an effective vaccine, is the trust that Americans have in believing that government officials will do what’s right, not just what is most expedient for political purposes.
Trusting science during this era of social media and partisan politics may be very difficult to overcome. But 64 years ago this coming October, Elvis Presley stepped up. The eventual King of Rock-and-Roll became an influencer for a segment of Americans. More on that later…
Herd Immunity
Having trust in our national infrastructure to develop and distribute effective and safe vaccines is paramount to reaching herd immunity, which is having enough people become immune to a disease to make its spread unlikely. Many experts estimate between 60% and 70% of the population need to be immune in order to achieve herd immunity.
Here’s the growing concern: We could have the most effective and safe vaccine available, but if few Americans take it, then it won’t matter.
During the past six months, Americans have seen highly-touted solutions fall short of the hype. The U.S. and the world are starving for good news concerning a Covid-19 vaccine. The haste for finding the silver bullet is causing both confusion and hesitation for Americans to feel comfortable enough to eventually obtain a vaccine when it does become available.
As intent as one political party is for news of a year-end vaccine that could help ‘save’ the presidential election, the opposing party is nervously hoping any promising news does not occur until AFTER the election. Both parties are in precarious and compromised positions. This tug of war competition uses science as the rope.
Polling on ‘Vaccine Hesitancy’
Vaccine hesitancy is showing up in national polling during August. The results indicate that about half of Americans are ‘highly likely’ to get vaccinated for Covid-19. An Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs online poll in May indicated that half of Americans would hesitate to take or refuse a vaccine, while a King’s College London study found similar numbers in the United Kingdom. To make matters worse, a vaccine may likely need two doses, not just one. Convincing people to seek a vaccine twice will be quite challenging.
According to scientists and America’s own Dr. Anthony Fauci, a widespread uptake of a coronavirus vaccine is the most effective tool in combating infectious diseases. But so far, the type of information being shared with Americans is both inconsistent and, in many cases, inaccurate. This is not a good combination needed to build the necessary trust in achieving herd immunity.
Below is a short list of examples that will erode American public trust if and when a proven vaccine becomes available.
1. Operation Warp Speed (OWS)
Introduced in early April 2020, Operation Warp Speed was initiated by the Trump Administration to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. As a public-private partnership consisting of federal agencies and private pharmaceutical firms, OWS promotes mass production of multiple vaccines based on preliminary evidence allowing for faster distribution if clinical trials confirm one of the vaccines is safe and effective. Congress has directed nearly $10 billion to fund OWS so that any vaccine or therapeutic doses purchased with U.S. taxpayer money will be given to Americans at little or no cost.
Four coronavirus candidate vaccines are expected to be in large-scale clinical trials by the middle of September – a remarkable timeline since the SARS-CoV-2 virus was discovered in December. However, the marketing of “Warp Speed” causes concerns for critics and some science experts that the government and its research partners may cut corners that would increase the likelihood that chosen vaccines are not really safe and effective.
2. Convalescent Blood Plasma Treatments
On the eve of the Republican National Convention, the FDA Commissioner, Dr. Stephen Hahn, reiterated President Trump’s proclamation that 35 people out of 100 (35 percent) would survive the coronavirus if they were treated with convalescent plasma. This “historic breakthrough” was based on preliminary findings of Mayo Clinic observations.
However, medical experts and scientists – including former FDA officials – pushed back saying the treatment’s value has not been established, and the claims vastly overstated preliminary findings of the Mayo Clinic. One day later, Hahn backtracked from his comments, stating, “…The criticism is entirely justified. What I should have said better is that the data show a relative risk reduction not an absolute risk reduction.”
The FDA is under intense pressure from the White House to move the approval process along when deciding whether upcoming vaccines are safe and effective for Covid-19.
3. CDC Using Yesterday’s Technology to Fight Covid-19
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the federal agency that has primary responsibility for handling infectious diseases, which is a huge lift during this pandemic. Yet, according to authors Joel White and Doug Badger in a recent Op-Ed in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, “the CDC uses an antiquated system to collect information essential to fighting the coronavirus.” The CDC, since 2006, has ignored four separate laws requiring it to build a modern, efficient system for collecting information to combat disease. Currently, they argue that “medical workers literally phone or fax in their data. And when they do, it’s not the data we need.” Fax???
During the week of August 24, the CDC quietly released controversial new guidelines that caused an outcry from various medical groups and allegations of political intervention. The agency dropped its previous recommendation to test everyone who’s come into close contact with a person infected with Covid-19 – even those who don’t have symptoms. Confusion reigns on what one should do if they become recently exposed but have no symptoms. In fact, several large states and providers rebuke this latest testing plan.
4. Hydroxychloroquine
On May 18, President Trump claimed that he has been taking doses of hydroxychloroquine, a drug he has highly touted as a potential coronavirus cure despite concerns from medical experts and the FDA, specifically regarding its efficacy and potential harmful side effects.
Initial data from observational studies have shown this drug has limited or unproven benefits for Covid-19 patients, and could be harmful when used in certain combinations.
5. Reporting Glitches from the Iowa Department of Public Health
Not to be outdone by the CDC, according to an August 28 Des Moines Register article authored by Lee Rood, the state health department has drawn widespread criticism from other Iowa county authorities because of data collection and reporting problems, resulting in thousands of coronavirus infections being misreported. The accuracy of underreported new infections has plagued the state for months.
6. U.S. Postal Service Delivery Problems
This summer, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Republican, has been slashing budgets and services due to poor finances, causing concern on whether the USPS can handle mailed-in ballots of three-quarters of the voting population this coming November. In fact, the Postal Service informed 46 states and the District of Columbia that it did not have service capacity to meet the deadlines for voters to request and send in ballots, prompting almost two dozen states to sue DeJoy and the Postal Service. The fundamental infrastructure for voting now becomes highly questionable because the mail service has become politicized.
Who will be the next ‘Elvis Presley’?
The first half of the 20th century saw a series of polio epidemics affect hundreds of thousands of children across the world. As a result, many were left seriously incapacitated, with one victim being Franklin D. Roosevelt, the future U.S. president. Major research was launched to combat polio, and in 1955, Dr. Jonas Salk announced that he developed a vaccine, that provided more than 90 percent protection after three shots.
At that time in America, the American public was somewhat indifferent towards the importance of vaccinations, in fact, there were organizations that lobbied against vaccinations in general, including polio.
Initiatives were launched for children to take the vaccine, but few U.S. teenagers and adults sought to be immunized, most believing they were not at risk. To boost teenager take-up of the polio vaccine, Elvis Presley was recruited, receiving massive media coverage while receiving the shot prior to his appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show 64 years ago this coming October 28. Newspapers all over the country published photos of the Presley vaccination. This publicity ‘stunt’ suggested that the vaccine was safe and helped promote public confidence. Presley, it should be mentioned, continued to work on behalf of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis and the vaccination became one of his advocacies.
Moving Forward
Even in ‘better’ times, there is a segment of the American population that believe vaccinations are not safe and can cause dangerous health problems, such as autism. In 2015, a Pew Research Center study found that about one in 10 Americans believe vaccines for diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella are not safe for healthy children.
By this November, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services plans to launch a public-awareness campaign across television, radio and social media, with the intent of focusing on vaccine safety and efficacy. Medical experts will be paired with celebrities to help these messages resonate with the public. Based on the confusion, doubts and concerns mentioned earlier, this will be a formidable challenge to overcome.
Several health policy experts envision vaccine ‘mandates’ coming from the government, much like the current vaccine requirements for school-age children, military personnel, and hospital workers. Imagine restaurants and bars having signs at the entrance saying, “No Shirt, Not Shoes, No Inoculation, No Service.” Providing proof of inoculation (and booster shots) could be mandatory before entering the establishment. In essence, being inoculated becomes your reward for doing the right thing.
It’s time to put science ahead of politics. Trust, as we all know, must be diligently earned.
Will the next ‘Elvis’ be able to restore our sagging confidence?
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