The Bigger Picture on Vaccines: It’s Too Early to Lower One’s Guard on COVID-19 Prevention

While ANCOR is optimistic about COVID-19 vaccines which are undergoing final approval from the Food and Drug Administration at this time, it is imperative that our members remain informed of broader challenges surrounding the vaccines so they can plan accordingly. Notably:

• There is an expected vaccine shortfall. As reported by the Washington Post: “Instead of 300 million vaccine doses immediately after emergency-use approval, and before the end of 2020 — as the Trump administration had originally promised — ‘current plans call for availability of around a tenth of that, or 35 to 40 million doses.’”
• Polls show a troubling distrust of the vaccine among the general public and first responders that could affect how soon the pandemic is brought under control.
• The road to a vaccine is expected to be very difficult this winter, due to a January-February flu season that is forecast to be difficult and the individual COVID-19 case count projected to rise to 3,000 cases per day.
• Because no vaccine is 100% effective, even those who are vaccinated risk contracting and spreading the coronavirus. For that reason, it will be imperative that people continue to wear masks, practice good hand hygiene and/or limit interactions with those outside their households until the virus is fully under control.