NIH director pleads with Americans to hit 'reset button' on vaccine skepticism


The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is officially on the move as of Sunday morning, and inoculations could begin as early as Monday morning, but there are still several logistical hurdles in place that suggest the United States' massive vaccination effort may not be a smooth ride. The biggest potential roadblock of them all, though, might be if people refuse to take it.
Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, appeared on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday and pleaded with Americans to drop their preconceptions about the vaccine. In response to host Chuck Todd's question about a study out of Florida's Miami-Dade County that suggested only about half of all health care workers were willing to receive an injection during the initial roll out, Collins said vaccine skepticism was a "great concern." He noted that trial data is public and indicates Pfizer's vaccine is safe and effective. "I think all reasonable people, if they had the chance to sort of put the noise aside and disregard all those terrible conspiracy theories, would look at this and say I want this for my family, I want this for myself," Collins told Todd.
Food and Drug Administration Chief Stephen Hahn on Sunday similarly told ABC News' Martha Raddatz that public weariness about the vaccine poses a "significant problem," and argued the government needs to address those "fears and concerns" with "transparency."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
How generative AI is changing the way we write and speak
In The Spotlight ChatGPT and other large language model tools are quietly influencing which words we use
-
How long can Nato keep Donald Trump happy?
Today's Big Question Military alliance pulls out all the stops to woo US president on his peacemaker victory lap
-
Easy Money: the Charles Ponzi Story – an 'enlightening' podcast
The Week Recommends Apple Original podcast explores the 'fascinating' tale of the man who gave the investment scam its name
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panel
speed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments