Alabama Doctors Host Two Telethons to Answer Viewers’ Questions About COVID-19 Vaccines

Last Thursday, doctors with the Medical Association of the State of Alabama and the Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics answered questions from over 200 callers about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines during newscasts on WBRC Fox 6.

Yesterday another group of our physicians went live on air with WKRG in Mobile and answered hundreds of more calls in regard to the vaccine.

Viewers of the television stations’ newscasts were invited to call in and speak one-on-one with a doctor about the vaccines.

“We were grateful for this opportunity to answer questions, allay fears and encourage people to get vaccinated.  It’s perfectly understandable to have questions and want more information.  As physicians, we want to do all we can to answer those questions and assure people that the vaccines are safe and effective,” said Dr. Aruna Arora, the President of the Medical Association.

Many callers had questions about the potential side effects of the vaccines, as well as how getting vaccinated could affect their underlying medical conditions.  Others asked how long protection from a COVID-19 vaccine lasts, if the vaccines are safe for children, and if they needed to get vaccinated after already having had COVID.

The Medical Association and the Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics are planning to do more vaccine call-in programs with television stations throughout the state. 

“We want to do all we can to help people get factual information about the vaccines,” said Dr. Arora.

In addition to Dr. Arora, other doctors who participated in the effort in Birmingham were: Dr. Hernando Carter, Dr. Aubrey Coleman, Dr. Candice Dye, Dr. Michael Saag, and Dr. Wesley Willeford.

Physicians who participated in Mobile included Dr. Michael Chang, Dr. Nina Ford Johnson, Dr. Peter Lutz, Dr. Katrina Skinner, and Dr. Prince C. Uzoije. Thank you to all who were involved!