Coronavirus experts frustrated with Fauci, media on mixed vaccine messaging: ‘We will never get to zero risk’
The Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines have been an outstanding success by any measure and represent the quickest path to a return to normal American life, but experts are worried that mixed government messaging and skeptical journalism are clouding the good news.Instead of hearing vaccines are a direct ticket to normalcy, hedging statements from Biden administration figures like Dr. Anthony Fauci and White House press secretary Jen Psaki have cast doubt on when that will occur, even after people get vaccinated. Instead of pushing studies that vaccinated persons are far less likely to infect others because of a reduced viral load, Americans are being told to continue hunkering down.And media reports haven’t always helped, including one headline from NBC News suggesting coronavirus was still spreading among vaccinated individuals, even though the few cases in Oregon were mild to asymptomatic. Other local news headlines have highlighted isolated instances of people dying post-vaccination, without a link to the vaccine having been confirmed.No concerning safety issues were associated with either the Pfizer and BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccines during the first month of rollouts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported last week. No deaths were attributed to the vaccines either, the health agency noted.DR. JANETTE NESHEIWAT: COVID, VACCINES AND THE FUTURE – THIS IS
