COLUMBIA, S.C. — Prisma Health held a virtual town hall to help answer questions from the community about the coronavirus and the vaccine.
The health care system broadcasted the town hall through Facebook and YouTube.
"We look forward to having a dialogue this morning to answer those questions and perhaps encourage you and the rest of the community to step forward when it's your turn to get that shot in the arm," said Dr. Saria Carter Saccocio.
Several health experts talked about the vaccine and those who are pregnant, safety practices and the health care system's efforts to help vaccinate the public.
They also talked about side effects with the vaccine and what people can do to limit its impact.
Dr. Divya Ahuja, who specializes in Infectious Diseases, talked about the speed in which the vaccine was put together and how safe it is.
"Never has a vaccine been produced this quickly but never has a pandemic affected the modern sort of era this rapidly and around the world," said Dr. Ahuja. "It's a safe vaccine. It's the right thing to do. It's the safe thing to do. Especially as this disease moves rapidly throughout the world."
Dr. Jaqui Jones, who does Family Medicine for Prisma Health, addressed the concern of the vaccine with minorities.
She says some of her patients are worried if the vaccine will be similar to situations like the Tuskegee Trials, where African Americans were misled for decades on receiving the appropriate treatment for syphilis causing mistrust between the community and health care.
"It is an opportunity to acknowledge that there have been times in medicine where we have not been good to minorities, whether it be women or people of color. But in this case, as we're battling the pandemic, I want to let patients of color, women, know that this vaccine is not set to harm anyone," said Dr. Jones. "We really are trying to protect a global population."
Dr. Kacey Eichelberger is the Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology for Prisma Health. She discussed vaccinations and those who are pregnant.
"We do know vaccination in general in pregnancy is a very common recommendation," said Dr. Eichelberger. "We recommend flu vaccination and pertussis vaccination for all pregnant women in the United States and there's no reason biologically that we're worried specifically about mRNA technology."
One of the most common questions Dr. Fredy Revilla gets is if people get the vaccine, can they start hanging out in groups.
"The answer is no. Even with the vaccine, you have to keep practicing social isolation, socially distancing as we call it, wearing masks, etc," said Dr. Revilla. "I recommend to minimize the risks by not gathering in large groups or with people who are not from your immediate family."
Prisma Health experts tackled many other topics regarding the vaccine and the pandemic with pregnancy and strains of the virus.
Head to Prisma Health's Facebook page or YouTube channel to watch the entire town hall or watch the video link above.