Daniel Salmon (
Douglas J. Opel is an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, in Seattle, Washington.
Health Aff (Millwood). 2021 Mar;40(3):419-425. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2020.02254. Epub 2021 Feb 4.
The US response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been plagued with politics driving public health and messaging. As a result, COVID-19 vaccine rollout is occurring in an environment ill equipped to achieve broad acceptance of the vaccine. Addressing public concerns unlocks the potential for high vaccine coverage; this is best achieved when science and values, not politics, inform public health. A multifaceted and thorough engagement and communication plan that is responsive to the concerns and values of different groups must be swiftly yet carefully implemented in a coordinated manner by federal, state, and local governments. Effective communication will require rapid and rigorous science to promptly differentiate between adverse events following immunization that are causally related versus simply coincidental. Health care providers, in particular, will need support to process the otherwise potentially overwhelming amount of relevant information and effectively integrate it into discussions with their patients to support their decision making. An equitable COVID-19 immunization program could substantively reduce the disproportionate risks associated with this pandemic.
美国对 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）的应对措施受到政治因素影响，这些因素影响了公共卫生和信息传递。因此，COVID-19 疫苗的推广工作是在一个无法广泛接受疫苗的环境中进行的。解决公众关切问题可以为高疫苗接种率开辟潜力；当科学和价值观而不是政治因素来指导公共卫生时，这一点可以得到最好的实现。联邦、州和地方政府必须迅速而谨慎地以协调一致的方式实施一个多方面和全面的参与和沟通计划，以回应不同群体的关切和价值观。有效的沟通将需要快速而严格的科学来迅速区分疫苗接种后不良反应是与因果关系相关还是仅仅是巧合。医疗保健提供者特别需要得到支持，以处理否则可能会让人不堪重负的大量相关信息，并将其有效地纳入与患者的讨论中，以支持他们的决策。公平的 COVID-19 免疫计划可以实质性地降低与这种大流行相关的不成比例的风险。
