Peter Pitts joins the i24 News Team to discuss the “new phase” the Coronavirus has entered and if a COVID-19 vaccine is our best hope.
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Peter Pitts on i24 News
Is a Covid-19 Vaccine the Best Hope?
The United States has reached 5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 – more than the population of Los Angeles. The real number is probably much higher.
Some are concerned about the “rush” to a vaccine, however, and may take a wait-and-see approach toward getting vaccinated.
Can the Next 5 Million COVID Cases be Prevented?
Even though 5 million confirmed cases may seem like a huge number, it’s only 1.5% of the U.S. population. If the true number is 10 times higher, as research suggests, that still leaves plenty of room for the virus to spread. In order to reach herd immunity, where enough people have become immune to the virus to protect everyone else, we’d need more than 200 million people to be either infected or immunized.
FDA Commissioner says they won’t ‘cut corners’ to approve a Covid-19 vaccine
Many Americans are skeptical about a vaccine. Dr. Stephen Hahn said he has seen surveys that report a significant part of the public will be reluctant to get a Covid-19 vaccine. A CNN poll in May found one-third of Americans said they would not try to get vaccinated against Covid-19, even if the vaccine is widely available and low-cost.
University of Washington Forecasts 300,000 US COVID-19 Deaths
Nearly 300,000 Americans could be dead from COVID-19 by Dec. 1, University of Washington health experts forecast on Thursday, although they said 70,000 lives could be saved if people were scrupulous about wearing masks.
Peter Pitts
Former FDA Associate Commissioner
President of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest
Visiting Professor at the University of Paris School of Medicine
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