Dr. Marc Siegel: COVID, the vaccine and you – a doctor’s advice after Biden’s address

During his prime time address Thursday night, President Biden set out two key dates: May 1st, when he plans to direct states to make all adults eligible for COVID vaccines, and July 4th, when he expects the country to be able to fully reopen.

I have some concerns about this timeline.

First, even if enough vaccine from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson are available for all Americans by May 1st, defying the agreed upon timetable of approximately 700 million doses distributed by the end of May, we still have the major issue of vaccine compliance.

In fact a recent Monmouth University poll found that 25 percent of Americans will still refuse the COVID vaccines.

PSAKI PRESSED ON BIDEN’S FOURTH OF JULY GOAL, CAUTIONS IT’S NOT A ‘RETURN TO TOTAL NORMALCY’

If non-compliance or vaccine hesitancy persists, that presents two major problems for the Biden administration.

First, we will end up with hundreds of millions of doses more than we need, at a time when the rest of the world is vaccine-starved. Even if we manage to finally contain COVID-19 here, we need to defeat it in the rest of the world to ensure public health.

Second, and even more disturbing, is the thin comma between the president’s two dates, May 1st and July 4th. He was clearly implying that your ability to attend your family’s July Fourth barbecue directly hinges on your taking your vaccine in the interim.

BIDEN JABS AT TRUMP IN PRIMETIME SPEECH IN CORONAVIRUS PLANS 

Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of these three vaccines, I believe they are all incredibly effective and safe. Not only that, but I believe that having taken both doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that my risks of either acquiring or transmitting COVID are close to zero and that I should feel free to head back in the direction of normal life.

But what I don’t believe is that people should be forced or coerced to take the vaccine. They should be reasoned with, their fears overcome. They shouldn’t be subject to an if…