The country’s leading infectious disease scientist attended a webinar on Monday to answer questions from Prince George County residents about the COVID-19 vaccine.
The country’s leading infectious disease scientist participated in a webinar on Monday to answer questions from residents of Prince George County, Maryland, about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, sought to dispel rumors, fears and suspicions by offering guarantees that FDA-approved vaccines are safe, even though they were developed in less than a year.
“That speed was not a reflection of cutting shortcuts,” said Fauci in the webinar hosted by Prince George County executive Angela Alsobrooks. “It was a reflection of the extraordinary advances that have been made in the science of developing vaccine platforms.”
Among the questions: Can anyone get COVID-19 with the vaccine?
“It is impossible to obtain COVID-19 with the vaccine,” said Fauci, explaining that the virus is not used in the vaccine.
Fauci also acknowledged the distrust in the medical system of some members of the African American community who are aware of unethical federal medical trials, most notably the Tuskegee Experiment, in which cases of syphilis in black men in Alabama were not treated.
“The first thing we need to do is respect the concern of people of color,” said Fauci. “The ethical safeguards that have been in place since Tuskegee … are such that such things would be impossible under today’s conditions.”
Fauci also dismissed a rumor that the vaccine could alter a person’s DNA: “Not at all; the vaccine has absolutely nothing to do with modifying its DNA. “
In response to a questioner’s concern about waiting until summer to get the vaccine, Fauci said: “You are putting yourself at extra risk, which is why we tell people when the vaccine is available to you, please take and use don’t wait. “
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