A recent poll shows that half of Americans say theyll get a COVID-19 vaccination when it becomes available.

Only about half of Americans in a recent poll say theyll get a COVID-19 vaccination when it becomes available, according to a recent study. A Pittsburgh-based immunology expert said he hopes they change their minds.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that if a vaccine against coronavirus becomes available to the public, only about half of those polled said they plan to get vaccinated; 20 percent said they will not; and about a third of those polled are not sure.

I advocate vaccines. They clearly have been shown to be safe in multiple studies, said Dr. William Klimstra, a professor of immunology at the University of Pittsburgh, during a Facebook Live discussion with Auditor General Eugene DePasquale. You just have to basically accept when you have essentially universal consensus among people who should know about something, in this case that vaccines are safe.

The top reason folks said they would be less inclined to get the vaccine is because of safety, particularly fear of potential side effects of the vaccine.

Seven out of 10 people polled who do not plan to get the vaccine said they are concerned about the side effects with nearly half being concerned with contracting the coronavirus. About one in three said they are not concerned about getting seriously ill from the virus.

Dr. William Klimstra, who works in the Department of Immunology and the Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Department at the University of Pittsburgh, is a member of the Center for Virus Research. An advocate of vaccines, he has been involved in several previous vaccine designs.

Klimstra spoke with Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale during a Facebook Live session on Wednesday and said the anti-vaccine rhetoric on social media and parts of the internet should not be accepted by anybody who thinks about this critically.

Were in an environment right now where long-standing excepted truths are being challenged through social media and other things, he said. Ive read a lot of the anti-vaccine literature and things that are on the internet, and people seem to feel Big Pharma is promoting these things and then scientists because they get grants. They have been compromised because of Big Pharma.

Klimstra said that vaccines are advocated by doctors, because theyre proven to be safe and effective.

I advocate vaccines. They clearly have been shown to be safe in multiple studies, he said. You just have to basically accept when you have essentially universal consensus among people who should know about something, in this case that vaccines are safe.

One argument against vaccines is that it causes autism, which Klimstra says, has been debunked completely.

Safety is scientists foremost priority when it comes to vaccine creation, Klimstra said. This is why its taking months to create a COVID-19 vaccine, he said.

The reason that its taking longer a frustratingly long time to get a coronavirus vaccine in the marketplace is because of the safety testing, he said.

Klimstra said people can have adverse reactions to vaccines. But its just vanishingly small with vaccines. And the links to autism are just not held up by science, he said.

Hundreds of millions of lives have been saved because of vaccines, Klimstra stressed.

Looking back, historically vaccines are one of the most productive and important medical technologies that have ever been used, he said.

Similarly to using masks, Klimstra said its not just about keeping yourself safe vaccines help prevent transmission of the virus.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed the top reasons for the nearly half of folks who said they would get a coronavirus vaccine are about protecting them, their family and their communities from the virus.

Among those polled, four out of five said they believe a vaccine is "an important criteria" for reopening, while nearly half say it's essential. About one-third say a vaccine is not essential for reopening.

Klimstra said vaccines are proven to be effective, calling them standard medical treatments.

Weve eliminated smallpox. Polio is almost eliminated, measles was nearly eliminated until people stopped taking the vaccine, he said. You wouldnt go to the doctor and not have a treatment for a medical condition where the treatment was nearly completely safe and worked a high percentage of the time. You wouldnt do that.

And thats what a vaccine is a standard medical treatment that saves lives. You just have to listen to people who should know about the issue.

For anti-vaxxers and those who arent convinced to get the coronavirus vaccine when it eventually becomes available, Klimstra said he hopes they will change their minds.

Its a critical issue both for themselves and for other people, he said.

Klimstra called it having a protective attitude and a positive community attitude.

These vaccines will be safe. I can guarantee that, he said. Given the technologies that will be utilized, they will be safe.

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To vax or not to vax: Pitt scientist discusses importance of vaccines - The Times