BUFFALO, N.Y. — The FDA is still considering whether to approve the COVID-19 vaccine. A decision on that is expected Thursday.
In the meantime, states including New York prepare to distribute limited quantities of the vaccine. And here in Western New York, community leaders and health officials are trying to educate the public about the vaccine.
"Our purpose today is to not tell you should or should not do anything other than get the information, and make the best decision you can make for yourself and your family," said Dr. Alan Lesse, senior associate dean for Medical Curriculum at UB.
Community leaders and local health experts are trying to separate fact from fiction about the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Buffalo Center for Health Equity hosted Wednesday's virtual public meeting, where there were questions about whether the vaccine was rushed.
"Nothing was skipped in these trials, but significant effort, enormous efforts and resources were devoted to getting the proper number of individuals to have a statistically valid comparison," Lesse said.
Trials that doctors say included people of different walks of life.
"These trials are to be commended for their rapid acquisition of enough participants in the study groups to make sure there were people of different races and ethnic origins and of different ages," Lesse said.
Pastor George Nicholas, the chair of the Buffalo Center for Health Equity wants to address doubt about the vaccine in the Black community.
"There's a still a great deal of skepticism in the African American community of the necessity of getting a vaccine," he said.
We also heard from doctors on the possibility of more people not following COVID orders because the vaccine is here.
"I do think that we have the possibility of having a little bit of vaccine euphoria that people will think the vaccine will take care of everything," Lesse said.
Lesse says hand washing and social distancing — all the things we've heard for months — will still be important when the vaccine is distributed in large quantities, to further reduce the spread of the virus.
Doctors also addressed why two shots are needed, in order for the vaccine to have maximum impact.
