Speaking with Atlantic Council think tank CEO Frederick Kempe this week, Bourla said that a “very small” group of people spreading misinformation has cost millions of lives.
“These people are criminals,” Bourla said. “They’re not bad people. They’re criminals because they have literally cost millions of lives.”
Bourla went on to say that “the only thing that stands between the new way of life and the current way of life is, frankly, hesitancy to vaccinations," he said, adding that people can get "back to normal" if they get the vaccine.
A new Kaiser Family survey found that nearly 80 percent of the public believes or is unsure of at least one false statement in regards to vaccines, specifically citing misinformation about infertility or microchips.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 194 million people are fully vaccinated in the US.
“Growing data point to significantly increased risks of COVID-19 illness and death for people who remain unvaccinated,” researchers said. “White people account for the largest share of people who remain unvaccinated.
“Black and Hispanic people have been less likely than their White counterparts to have received a vaccine, but these disparities have narrowed over time and largely closed for Hispanic people.”
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