The race is on to develop a vaccination that can bring an end to the coronavirus pandemic. Researchers around the world are working on an immunization to slow or stop the outbreak. As that effort ramps up, there’s clear evidence that childhood vaccination rates for existing infectious diseases have plummeted.
Parents and families have postponed or canceled routine healthcare appointments fearing COVID-19 contagion. Standard immunizations for diseases like measles, mumps, diphtheria and pertussis are down between 40 and 50 percent.
Whether we’re talking about a coronavirus vaccine or standard childhood disease prevention, some people are eager to get vaccinated while others refuse. How are people likely to respond to a COVID vaccination when it’s finally developed?
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the West Virginia Humanities Council. Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond. You also can listen to Us & Them on WVPB Radio. Tune in on the fourth Thursday of every month at 8 p.m., with an encore presentation on the fourth Saturday at 3 p.m.
