Important Issues

An MSDC resolution on the coming COVID-19 vaccine passed the American Medical Association House of Delegates at the 2020 Special Interim Meeting.

MSDC submitted a resolution to I-20 due to concerns about the lack of trust in the coming COVID-19 vaccine. An October 2020 Lancet article cited a report showing that 31 million people follow anti-vaccine groups on Facebook, and one in six people would refuse a COVID-19 vaccine due primarily to social media misinformation. To be effective, a COVID-19 must be widely distributed and be trusted. 

MSDC's recommendation (with the final title "An Urgent Initiative to Safeguard COVID-19 Vaccine Programs") urged to AMA to institute a program to take the following steps:

• Educate physicians on speaking with patients about the COVID-19 vaccine
• Educate the public on the safety of the vaccine
• Counter misinformation on the vaccine
• Form a coalition of national medical groups to create an educational campaign on the vaccine
• Support ongoing monitoring of the vaccine to ensure it is safe and effective

The resolution was considered in Reference Committee D, where Alternate Delegate Neal Barnard spoke in support of the bill on behalf of MSDC. The committee accepted most of the recommendation and made wording changes to clarify language intent.