BOISE, Idaho — In order to reach the state's goal to get 80% of Idahoans vaccinated from the coronavirus, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is asking for grant money so they can better reach younger adults.
With a list of common questions from younger adults, The 208 spoke with Dr. James Souza, the chief medical officer for St. Luke's Health System.
For people's concerns that the current COVID-19 vaccines had cut corners in order to be mass distributed so soon, Dr. Souza said much of the work on vaccines had been accelerated due to the scale of the pandemic.
"I mean, if the definition of a shortcut is that you skip steps, that didn't happen," he explained. "But all the steps were accelerated. And I know the root of that question is people are worried about safety, and I, again, we should remember that this vaccine, globally and right here in the U.S., it's undergoing the most rigorous safety monitoring in history."
He added that when it comes to preserving human life, getting the vaccine is the best bet to minimize the pandemic's cost of life. While the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was paused after six women developed blood clots from it, early estimates indicate that the 6.8 million doses of the vaccine administered saved about 3,500 people and prevented 135,000 hospitalizations.
"Think about it, almost 7 million people got that vaccine. And yet we were able to pick up a possible pattern with literally six individuals. I mean, That is some pretty astute doctoring. And so, pretty hefty oversight in terms of safety monitoring," he said.
Souza added that if there's a 10% chance of developing long-term symptoms from COVID-19 and a 33% chance to develop behavioral health issues, then why not take the method that's 95% effective in preventing it?
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