Newsday

COVID-19 vaccinations may bring normal summer, panel says

Dr. Aaron Glatt, chair of medicine and chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital, stands in the laboratory as he speaks about this seasons flu and coronavirus on Feb. 5, 2020 in Oceanside. Credit: Howard Schnapp

By Ted Phillips

ted.phillips@newsday.com @tedephillips

Updated December 31, 2020 4:02 PM

Millions of sleeves rolling up to take the COVID-19 vaccines promise a possible normal summer 2021, a panel of government officials and medical professionals said Wednesday night.

"We will end this pandemic," Dr. Aaron Glatt, chair of infectious diseases and department of medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital, said during a panel discussion. "The only way you can get rid of a pandemic is by vaccines."

The panel, held online over Zoom and organized by the Jewish Alliance for Dialogue and Engagement along with The Marion & Aaron Gural JCC, was intended to be an antidote to skepticism over the two vaccines that had been approved in the United States.

"You cannot get COVID from taking these vaccines," said Glatt, who is also a rabbi. The vaccines have shown to be 95% effective and have "zero risk," he said, though there have been rare cases of allergic reaction. "It's important that everybody eventually take this vaccine and especially the people at the highest risk, which are generally older people and people with underlying medical problems."

Andrea Ault-Brutus, director of health equity for the Nassau County Health Department, said the vaccination effort needed to work with trusted community leaders and stakeholders to spread scientifically based information to counter a "the history of distrust, especially in the Black community."

"We can see from immunization efforts, especially with influenza, that when you partner with the community you get higher rates of taking the vaccine," Ault-Brutus said.

Nassau County Health Commissioner Lawrence Eisenstein said people receiving the vaccines as it became more widely available would not be asked their immigration status.

"The health department's sole purpose is to prevent the spread of disease," Eisenstein said. "We don't care where you're from. We don't care what your status is."