#Majority of people say they won’t take COVID-19 vaccine within first year

Most people would like to see a coronavirus vaccine approved this year, but far fewer are willing to be the first in line, a new poll has revealed.

Recently, WebMD surveyed its readers to explore their sense of urgency and concern regarding a vaccine for COVID-19. Of the 1,000 respondents, less than half, 42%, said they would opt-in for treatment within the first 12 months of a vaccine’s release.

Alarmingly, nearly a third of participants, 28%, told the medical news and information website that they had no intention of getting any vaccine, ever.

“This serves as a wake-up call,” said Dr. John Whyte, chief medical officer of WebMD, in an article appearing on the website. “If immunization rates are low, then we’re not going to achieve the level of herd immunity needed to protect us from this virus.”

Whyte later told The Post in an e-mail statement that now is “too early” to make a call.

“It’s too early to know whether you should, or should not, be hesitant about getting the vaccine,” he said. “All we have now are the early results from a couple of major studies on a few hundred people.”

Health experts have estimated that 70% of a population must be protected either with a vaccine or by having recovered from the virus to reach “herd immunity” status — meaning COVID-19 will no longer be a pandemic-level threat and the world’s economies can safely reopen.

Unfortunately, many may be forced to achieve immunity the hard way — by getting the virus — as only 26% have said they’d step up within the first 90 days.

“How are we going to reopen if people aren’t getting the vaccine? We need a Plan B,” Whyte said.

Currently, there are more than five pre-eminent therapies being studied as part of “Operation Warp Speed,” a government-backed initiative to help scientists and drug companies fast-track a vaccine to market. Since its launch in May, the White House has ordered 500 million doses total from three such potential cures for SARS-CoV-2 for clinical trials. On Monday, a fourth option entered its third and final round of clinical testing on 30,000 US adult volunteers.

Around the world, there are more than 165 vaccines being developed, according to WebMD.

The poll suggests that Americans aren’t confident that expedited testing will be thorough enough to guarantee the vaccine’s safety. Three-quarters of respondents reported having concerns over potential side effects, while 15% didn’t believe a vaccine would be effective.

The best way to build public trust, Whyte suggested, would be for the Food and Drug Administration to show Americans how the drugs are vetted.

“I think it is critical that we have a transparent process when the FDA reviews the completed trial results,” he said. “The safety and efficacy must be publicly available and broadly disseminated.”

The White House’s top health adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has implored the public to get over their skepticism of a coronavirus vaccine. During a CNN broadcast on Monday, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told viewers, “If we get a widespread uptake of vaccine, we can put an end to the pandemic and we can create a veil of immunity that would prevent the infection coming back.”