A vaccine for coronavirus is currently in production and health officials have claimed that a vaccine will play a pivotal role in getting Americans' lives back to normal. However, some have admitted that social distancing and face masks won't disappear upon the arrival of a vaccine.

To make matters even more interesting, there is talk of the coronavirus vaccine arriving as early as 2021 or even later this year. Bear in mind that most vaccines take years order to develop, test, and analyze; even after all this time and work has passed, vaccines still carry risk of harm, just like any other form of medicine.

Certain officials have stated that the COVID-19 vaccine will be readily available to Americans at "warp speed." Unfortunately for the healthcare community, this is concerning and has lead to a growing minority saying "no, thank you."

Why are Americans skeptical about the coronavirus vaccine?

Different polls have shown that anywhere from 25% to 33% of Americans are unwilling to take a rapidly produced COVID-19 vaccine. Granted, some people are more than willing to take it; others, however, prefer to first wait and see how folks who get the vaccine respond to it.

The concerns regarding the coronavirus vaccine deal with speed of production. Another important factor entails a lack of transparency; some people are questioning how vaccine developers can safely bring a vaccination to market after mere months when other vaccines require many years of development and testing.

Medical community members have urged more communication with the general public regarding the coronavirus vaccine's development and effectiveness.

The push for compulsory vaccination

Last week, multiple doctors penned an op-ed in USA Today. Within this op-ed, the doctors urged for a mandatory coronavirus vaccine; they also stated that no religious/personal exemptions should be allowed while endorsing penalties for Americans who refuse the vaccines.

Some of the penalties supported by the contibutors include the following: job loss (at the discretion of the employer); revoked tax credits; loss of access to public services; and prohibition from commercial and public transportation.

This op-ed rapidly made the rounds online with many Americans expressing disapproval. Many people already have concerns about the coronavirus vaccine or vaccinations in general; using the government as a tool to force the vaccine upon others is unlikely to dispel concerns.

If anything, a tactic of this nature may increase concerns, suspicions, and pushback.

--------------------------------------------------

Have a story you want USA Herald to cover? Submit a tip here and if we think it's newsworthy, we'll follow up on it.

Want guaranteed coverage? We also offer contract journalism here.  Just be sure you're comfortable giving up editorial control, because our journalists are dogged and will follow the story through to it's conclusion. The story will be published to our exacting standards, without regard for your preferred slant.

Want to contribute a story? We also accept article submissions -- check out our writer's guidelines here.