Failure to Get Mass Numbers of People Vaccinated Against COVID-19 Will Be Catastrophic

With half a million Americans dead and new cases on the rise in many states, the urgency of getting as many people vaccinated against COVID-19 as quickly as possible should be obvious. However, new data from a small international survey of epidemiologists, virologists, and infectious disease specialists suggest that low vaccine coverage could leave every corner of the globe as vulnerable as ever, if not more so, in short order. Two-thirds of the 77 experts said we have a year or less before the original virus mutates, which would leave most first-generation vaccines ineffective. One-third said the timeframe for that to occur is probably closer to 9 months. Only 8% said it’s possible mutations would never render current vaccines obsolete. This all means it’s essential that urgent care providers continue to encourage patients to get immunized, to explain which precautions need to be continued once fully vaccinated, and to conduct their own immunization programs when given the opportunity. The survey was conducted in February and March of this year by the People’s Vaccine Alliance, an international collective of experts from Johns Hopkins, Yale, Cambridge, and other medical schools across the globe.