In December 2020, less than 65% of Americans were willing to accept a COVID-19 vaccine. More than 35% of Americans said that they would not accept the vaccine. And they were not alone: A global survey commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that citizens in 8 of 19 countries surveyed, including Canada, Singapore, Nigeria, and France, showed similar results when asked if they would accept a COVID-19 vaccine.

In 2019 the World Health Organization listed vaccination hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats, to global public health. And while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate communities worldwide – and while vaccines are available, there is still a large group of people that refuses to accept it.

But there is also good news. In March 2021 an update to the WHO's survey showed that the percentage of Americans willing to get the Covid-19 vaccine increased from 65% in December to 71% in early March.

In this episode, Paul Schmidt talks with Steve Pearlman, Ph.D., about the factors that play a role in vaccine hesitancy. Schmidt and Pearlman talk about what the medical community can do to help address it. [1]

Peter Hofland, Ph.D., spoke with Scott A. Sigman, MD, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, about the results of a small-scale randomized clinical study comparing standard medical care vs. standard medical care in combination with photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. [2]

Later in the program, Rachel Giles, MD talks with Valena Wright, MD, a board-certified gynecologic oncologist at Beth Israel Lahey Health and Hospital in Boston, MA, about obstetrical and gynecological health, women's cancer prevention, and why the HPV vaccine is one of the best tools against cancer. Wright was the previous president of the New England Association of Gynecologic Oncology (2010-2011).[3][4]

Reference
[1] Pearlman SJ , Carillo D. America’s Critical Thinking Crisis: The Failure and Promise of Education.[https://amzn.to/31Flvwt ]
[2] Vetrici MA, Mokmeli S, Bohm AR, Monici M, Sigman SA. Evaluation of Adjunctive Photobiomodulation (PBMT) for COVID-19 Pneumonia via Clinical Status and Pulmonary Severity Indices in a Preliminary Trial. J Inflamm Res. 2021 Mar 19;14:96 5-979. doi: 10.2147/JIR.S301625. PMID: 33776469; PMCID: PMC7989376.
[3] Arakawa A, Ichikawa H, Kubo T, Motoi N, Kumamoto T, Nakajima M, Yonemori K, Noguchi E, Sunami K, Shiraishi K, Kakishima H, Yoshida H, Hishiki T, Kawakubo N, Kuroda T, Kiyokawa T, Yamada K, Yanaihara N, Takahashi K, Okamoto A, Hirabayashi S, Hasegawa D, Manabe A, Ono K, Matsuoka M, Arai Y, Togashi Y, Shibata T, Nishikawa H, Aoki K, Yamamoto N, Kohno T, Ogawa C. Vaginal Transmission of Cancer from Mothers with Cervical Cancer to Infants. N Engl J Med. 2021 Jan 7;384(1):42-50. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2030391. PMID: 33406329.
[4] Wright V. It's Time You Knew: The Power of Your Choices to Prevent Women's Cancer [https://amzn.to/2PlLaYx ]