A poll by the Medical Society of the State of New York finds that there is growing confidence in a COVID-19 vaccine, as it approaches weeks away from a release.
The survey of physicians in New York found that 80% will take the vaccine. While just 7.5% say they will not take it. Approximately 75% of doctors in the survey reported patients asking them about it.
The doctors expect around half of their patients to seek out the vaccine once its available.
“New York physicians stand ready and able to begin the process of immunizing New Yorkers and the Medical Society of the State of New York believes that the trust patients have in their physicians will go far in combatting vaccine hesitancy,” said Medical Society President Bonnie Litvack, MD in a statement.
“Community-based physicians’ practices are located in New York’s rural, suburban, and urban areas and more often than not, those physicians speak the language of their patients, and most importantly, have the trust of their patients. As physicians, we must all work together to immunize all New Yorkers with the COVID-19 vaccine.”
On Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said it would take months to get the vaccine distributed to ‘critical mass’. He forecasted late-spring or early-summer as a possible window for when enough people have been vaccinated.
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