6:47 p.m. ET, December 12, 2020
Vaccine hesitancy is now the biggest challenge in the fight against Covid-19, AMA president says
From CNN Health’s Lauren Mascarenhas
Vaccine hesitancy is now the biggest challenge remaining in the fight against Covid-19, Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association, said in a statement Saturday.
CDC advisers voted to recommend the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in the US Saturday. While the AMA looks forward to the CDC director reviewing and approving the recommendation, Bailey said that the hard work is far from over.
“Manufacturing, distribution, and administration still pose challenges, but the biggest threat remaining may be people’s willingness to get vaccinated,” she said. “To be clear, these vaccines will reduce death and severe illness. They have been rigorously evaluated, and if enough of us roll up our sleeves and get vaccinated, we can eventually reclaim normalcy.”
Dr. Megan Ranney, a CNN medical analyst and Brown University emergency physician, is scheduled to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine next Thursday. The potential side effects of the vaccination are not a deterrent, according to Ranney.
“I have really zero reservations about being one of the first people,” Ranney told CNN’s Ana Cabrera on Saturday.
“I'm willing to take those minor side effects to avoid having Covid, which I've seen at this point in thousands of people. It is a horrible disease,” she said. “I will take a little low-grade fever over having Covid.”
The authorization of the vaccine is cause for optimism, Ranney added.
“Throughout this pandemic, we've heard a lot of claims of magical cures, whether it was hydroxychloroquine or bleach or just, ‘This virus is going to magically disappear,’ ” she said. “Well, the vaccine is the real deal.”