It Has Been Approved
by Ngozi Osuagwu, MD | December 14th, 2020
This past week, I received an email from my job asking whether I would opt in to take the coronavirus vaccine. I thought about the blog I wrote in August titled What Vaccines Do You Need? I was hesitant at that time to consider the vaccine because I was concerned about how fast this vaccine was developed compared to other vaccines. Since that time, there has been a lot of information on the coronavirus vaccine and on Friday, December 11, 2020, the FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use in the U.S. I signed up at my job and provided my cell number. I will be notified when vaccine becomes available through a text message and then will schedule an appointment to get it – stay tuned.
Why am I more confident now than I was in August?
- Yes, it is true the vaccine was developed quickly but there is a reason. Typically vaccines are not money makers for the pharmaceutical companies. It takes time and money to develop a vaccine and sometimes the vaccine does not work. The government took away all the risks. The government provided the resources to the pharmaceutical companies to work almost full time on the development of the vaccine. They would not lose money whether or not the vaccine worked.
- The vaccine has been shown to be effective. When you get the vaccine, the body can then fight against the coronavirus so that you do not become severely ill.
- The vaccine has been shown to have a good safety profile. Most problems with a vaccine occur immediately. Those people who were part of the initial trial were followed for at least 60 days and no severe reactions were seen.
- It has gone through all the regulatory processes that all vaccines have to go through before they are given to the public.
- If all of us take the vaccine, we are closer to getting back to some normalcy. However, until further notice, we still have to wear a facial covering, maintain social distancing and constantly wash our hands.
Please click here to listen to a panel discussion with Dr. Wayne Frederick, the President of Howard University and Dr. Fauci to talk about the vaccine, COVID-19 and the African-American community.
