An infectious disease expert warned that the U.S. will enter the darkest part of the global pandemic while waiting for a safe and effective vaccine. 

COVID-19 Patient
(Photo : Reutersconnect)
Medical team transports a COVID-19 patient to other hospital.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said that the next six to 12 weeks are going to be the darkest part of the global pandemic in the country. He also added that this will continue until a vaccine will be available. 

According to a Meaww, one of the major problems is the lack of proper information about the infectious and deadly COVID-19. He suggested that there should be a strong lead voice that will guide Americans and the minorities in the country. 

During the Meet the Press, Osterholm said the timetable suggests that COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive in the third quarter next year. This means that the next six to 12 weeks will be very crucial in the country as the number of infections continues to swell. 

He also explained that the majority of the Americans are skeptical of taking the vaccine or even participating in the human clinical trials. He firmly believed that people are unsure about what to believe over the vaccine and that is the greatest challenge now.

According to Osterholm, people should get information about the vaccine that is based on Science and facts. There should be a "lead voice" that will inform the people as to how effective add safe the vaccines are. The information to be relayed should be a consolidated message coming from the health experts as well as the government.

The issue of COVID-19 vaccines arises after Dr. Anthony Fauci said in recent months that he cannot assure a safe and effective vaccine. This is because of the manner of time that the vaccine is developed. Normally, it takes years before it will be released but the COVID-19 vaccines that are now in different stages of human clinical trials only took months. 

This means that scientists, researchers, and pharmaceutical companies rush the development of the vaccine in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus.

Another thing that adds up to this problem is the large study that the World Health Organization conducted which revealed that Remdesivir and three other drugs do not help COVID-19 patients. 

To address this problem, Dr. Osterholm said that there should be someone who will give a good and positive message about the virus.

A lead expert should also explain, in layman's terms, how the vaccine is getting developed and what are the possible risks. This will help to bring the people together to understand the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

"We need somebody to start to articulate, what is our long term plan? How are we going to get there? Why are we asking people to sacrifice, distancing? Why are we telling people, 'If you really love your family, you won't go home for Thanksgiving or Christmas and end up infecting mom or dad or grandpa and grandma.' We don't have that storytelling going on right now. And that's every bit as important as the science itself," Osterholm added.

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