FDA commissioner says it's 'a significant problem' many Americans do not want COVID-19 vaccine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn during an interview with ABC's Martha Raddatz called it "a significant problem" that many Americans do not intend to get a COVID-19 vaccination.

"Recent polling shows between one-quarter and one-third of Americans do not want to receive a shot," Raddatz said. "What kinds of problems do those numbers present?" 

Hahn described this as "a signifiant problem" and said that herd immunity is key to emerging from the coronavirus crisis.

"If you think about how we get out of this pandemic, we have to continue our mitigation efforts right now, that is so important, mask wearing etcetera," Hahn said. "But the way we see light at the end of the tunnel, the way we get through this is to achieve herd immunity. And that means we need to vaccinate a significant number of people in this county, including those who are hesitant. And we need to address their fears and concerns. We need to roll this out in a way that provides confidence to people. But we also need to be transparent."

Hahn emphasized the importance of transparency: "We want the data to be known. We wanted that advisory committee to be public. Because we wanted everyone in America, around the world frankly, to see what information was available and why we made the judgment we made about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine," he said. "And as you can see, the experts on the panel also gave with their vote a thumbs up to that authorization process as well. So I think that level of transparency and information helps us."

A Gallup survey performed during mid to late November found that 63% would consent to be vaccinated if a vaccine were FDA-approved and available for free, while 37% would not. 

"These latest findings are from the probability-based online Gallup Panel survey conducted Nov. 16-29, which began a week after the announcement by Pfizer and BioNTech that their COVID-19 vaccine had proved better than 90% effective in Phase 3 clinical trials," according to Gallup.

The FDA on Friday issued an emergency use authorization regarding the Pfizer-Biotech COVID-19 vaccine. Shipments on Sunday were dispatched from Michigan to locations around the nation.

So far there have been more than 16.1 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and more than 298,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.