By Zoë Richards
September 17, 2020 7:51 a.m.
National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said Wednesday that public hesitation about getting a vaccine to protect against coronavirus has been “enhanced†by what he called an “unfortunate mix of science and politics,†adding that politicization concerns need to be urgently addressed to put to rest public mistrust.
“Those who are vaccine hesitant have had their hesitancy enhanced by a variety of things that are happening right now, particularly the unfortunate mix of science and politics,†Collins said at an event hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
In a recent poll, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that more than half of respondents said they would not get the vaccine even if it was available and offered for free ahead of the November election. A majority of respondents (62 percent) also fear that political pressure from the Trump administration will lead the Food and Drug Administration to rush to approve a COVID-19 vaccine before ensuring its safety and efficacy, the poll found.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/nih-director-vaccine-mistrust-mix-science-politics
