You're looking at video of Sandra

Lindsay, an intensive care nurse,

receiving the first vaccination at Long

Island Jewish Medical Center in

New York. The U.S.

began vaccinating the population against

the coronavirus in December of

2020. The goal is to get the Covid

vaccine to every person in the U.S.

who wants one. But survey data shows

that nearly 40% of the U.S.

population doesn't want it.

Widespread mistrust might have something to

do with the fact that if

anything goes wrong with the vaccine,

the drug makers that produce them

aren't responsible.

This is a remarkable circumstance.

It's certainly not like anything

anybody's ever seen before.

That means that companies like Pfizer

and Moderna have total immunity

against lawsuits related to injuries

resulting from taking the Covid

vaccines. Meanwhile, employers are legally

allowed to require employees to

get immunized against the virus.

Requiring a vaccine is a health and

safety work rule and employers can do

that. Ultimately, if we want any chance

and returning to life is normal,

mass vaccination is going

to be critical.

So how do you convince the public to

take a vaccine made in record time,

using technology that's never

before been licensed?

And is anyone to blame

if something goes wrong?

Frontrunners Pfizer and Moderna built their

Covid vaccines with a new kind

of technology that's never before

been licensed in the U.S.

Typically a vaccine puts a weakened or

inactivated virus into our bodies to

trigger an immune response.

But the coronavirus vaccine relies on

messenger RNA, which contains a

piece of genetic code with

instructions for our body.

The mRNA tells our cells

to make a protein.

The same protein that's a spike

on top of the actual Coronavirus.

This is what triggers the immune

response to Covid-19, which then produces

antibodies. Those antibodies are what

ultimately protect us from getting

infected if we ever

encounter the real thing.

Both companies have said that taking

their vaccines could result in side

effects similar to mild covid symptoms

like muscle pain, chills and a

headache. Even those side effects

of the vaccine resemble Covid-19

symptoms, it's impossible to contract

the coronavirus from the vaccine

because the mRNA vaccines that Pfizer and

Moderna are making don't use the

live virus. I experienced stiffness pain in

my left arm where I had gotten

the vaccine, but it was mild.

The second dose was a

different story for Batalvi.

After the injection, I had the

same side effects as the first.

So the localized pain, stiffness, there

was a little bit worse.

More significant symptoms

presented that evening.

I had developed a low grade

fever and stuff associated with that.

So the fatigue had worsened.

I had gotten chills.

Other trial participants from both the

Pfizer and Moderna studies have

reported similar issues after

the second shot.

One Pfizer trial participant told CNBC that

after the booster shot, he woke

up with chills, shaking so

hard he cracked a tooth.

For him, it hurt to even

just lay in his bed sheet.

But this kind of

reaction isn't the norm.

Both of these vaccines are about 95%

effective, but it's still unclear how

long this protection lasts, which is

what worries some doctors more than

the potential for any sort

of long-term side effects.

There is a concern that once

the initial response against the vaccine

wanes, that we might

see more disease.

And that is why all the

Phase 3 clinical trials against Covid

continue to run, even after

demonstrating the early efficacy.

One major benefit of the mRNA technology

is how quickly it can be

developed. And that is one of the

reasons why the messenger RNA technology

was sort of first in line right

after knowing the virus' genetic sequence.

But the Covid vaccine's faster manufacturing

timeline is part of what has

been fueling widespread fear that it's

unsafe to get the shot.

Experts, however, say the process was

no less rigorous than usual.

A lot of the steps that would occur

in sequence in the past, has been

occurring in parallel during Covid, but

they were not eliminated in terms

of determining the safety

of the vaccine.

The FDA may have cleared the

Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for emergency use.

But mass adoption?

It's not guaranteed.

Roughly 4 in 10 Americans say they

would "definitely or probably not" get a

vaccine. While this is lower than it

was two months ago, to achieve herd

immunity, experts say that about 70%

of the population needs to be

vaccinated or have

natural antibodies.

Central to closing the trust gap

is a robust and reliable national

education campaign.

The Department of Health and Human Services

is slated to spend $250 million

in taxpayer money on this effort.

But this push by the federal government

to educate the public has been

plagued by controversy.

For everything from allegedly trying to

politicize the message, to concern

over the lengthy delay and rolling

out the targeted messaging that was

promised. At least 15 states told NBC

News in early December, they weren't

waiting for the HHS campaign.

Instead, they launched their own

communication campaigns to expedite the

message. The private sector is

also playing a big role.

It's everyone's responsibility.

And what we do know is that

pharmacy and pharmacists are actually in

everyone's community.

We have pharmacists who are within 5

miles of probably 90% of Americans.

Really, pharmacists are up there as one

of the most trusted health care

professionals. And the survey recently said

that 3 of 4 Americans

basically said they trust pharmacists

to administer their Covid-19

vaccine. Closing the Covid vaccine

trust gap will prove especially

difficult in communities of color, which

have been hit hardest by the

pandemic. Black Americans, for example, are

dying from Covid-19 it almost

3 times the rate of

White Americans in the U.S.

That's part of why federal health

officials have talked about giving

priority access to the vaccine

to people of color.

But there is an

overwhelming resistance to inoculation.

A survey released at the end of November

2020, found that only 14% of Black

Americans "mostly or completely trust" a Covid

vaccine will be safe and 18

% trust that it will be effective

in shielding them from the Coronavirus.

We've had continued mistrust because of

people who have been frankly abused

within the health care system.

Not treated respectfully, not approaching

a culturally competent manner,

denied access to care.

Experts say the memory of the

Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment has also fueled

suspicion. For 40 years, starting

in 1932, the U.S.

Public Health Service used Black men to

conduct a study of the progression

of the lethal Syphilis disease.

And because of racism, overt racism

and even microinsults that have

occurred to people of color

in the health system.

You know, people developed

a degree of mistrust.

Combating this narrative may take

a more targeted approach.

The National Medical Association, of which

Benjamin is a member, is
convening a group of Black doctors for

an expert task force that will

independently assess the safety and

efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines.

We know that patients trust their doctors,

and many of the surveys have

shown that if their physician recommends it,

they are much more likely to

take the vaccine. If you suffer

severe side effects after getting the

vaccine, there's basically no one

to blame in a U.S.

court of law. Take

the vaccine makers.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex

Azar invoked the Public Readiness

and Emergency Preparedness Act in February

of 2020, which protects the

makers of Covid products such as

vaccines and treatments from legal

action. This protection

lasts until 2024.

Essentially, in order to encourage companies

to get into the space, to

develop vaccines for the good of

the public, for public health.

The government comes up with a

program which immunizes those companies

from liability for any injuries or

damages caused by taking the vaccine.

That means for the next four years,

companies like Pfizer and Moderna can't

be sued for money damages in

court over injuries related to the

administration or use of products to

treat or protect against Covid-19.

But drug makers, like Pfizer, continue

to reassure the public no shortcuts

were taken. This vaccine is getting

approved by all authorities in the

world, so that should

say something to them.

Pfizer and Moderna did not return CNBC's

request for comment on their legal

protections. But remember, it was the

FDA that actually cleared the

vaccine for use.

So does the federal

government bear any responsibility?

You can't sue the FDA for approving

or disapproving a drug, that's part of

its sovereign immunity.

Sovereign immunity traces back to

British law before the American

Revolution. You couldn't

sue the king.

The U.S. adopted that same principle.

There are limited exceptions, but legal

experts say they don't provide a

viable legal path to hold the

government responsible for a Covid vaccine

injury. And the workplace now introduces

a unique set of legal challenges

related to the vaccine.

Once the FDA upgrades its emergency authorization

to a full approval in a

few months from now, there's

speculation that employers could require

staff to get inoculated.

The clients of mine that are most

interested in making a mandatory vaccine

a condition of employment are brick and

mortar operations that have a lot

of foot traffic from their customers.

They view it as a selling point.

Look, you can come to our business

location and it's safe because all

employees have been vaccinated.

That's particularly important for restaurants,

bars, gyms and salons.

While this is in part a PR tactic,

it is also legally within an employer's

rights to roll out

this kind of requirement.

Requiring a vaccine is a health and

safety work rule and employers can do

that. Now, some employees could apply

to be exempt from a blanket

requirement. If a workforce is

unionized, the collective bargaining

agreement may require negotiating with

the union before mandating a

vaccine. Anti-Discrimination laws also provide

some protections, but legal

experts say that if an employee is forced

to get a vaccine and suffers a

debilitating injury from it, claims

would be routed through workers

compensation programs and treated as

an on the job injury.

So if you're looking for accountability,

you're probably going to have to

use other accountability tools

beside the court.

If you're looking for compensation,

you should use a government

compensation program. The National

Vaccine Injury Compensation Program,

better known by the name "Vaccine Court",

is relatively easy to use and

generous in terms of what it's willing

to pay out to those who are

eligible. But because the Covid vaccine

has not yet been recommended for

routine administration to pregnant women

or children, it doesn't qualify.

Another program, and the only real pool

of cash available to those harmed

by the Covid vaccine is a

fund attached to the PREP Act.

The so-called Countermeasures Injury Compensation

Program has been around

for a decade, but experts specializing in

vaccine law say it's a lot more

difficult to navigate.

The problem with the PREP Act is

that it's attached to a government

compensation program that's very hard to

use, where the bar for

compensation is very high.

Since the program began 10 years ago,

the CICP has only compensated 29

claims, totaling more

than $6 million.

If a case for compensation through

the CICP is successful however, the

program provides up to $50,000/year for

reimbursed lost wages and any

out-of-pocket medical expenses.

It won't cover legal fees nor anything

to compensate for pain and or

suffering. It's also capped at the

death benefit of $370,376, which is

the most that a surviving family member

receives in the event that a Covid

vaccine proves to be fatal.

There's also a strict one year statute,

meaning that all claims have to be

filed within 12 months

of getting the vaccine.

People who are harmed by Covid-19

vaccine deserve to be compensated.

Compensated fast and generously.

The PREP Act doesn't do that.

The HRSA declined CNBC's

request for an interview.

Reiss says the best fix is to

change the rulebook of the National Vaccine

Injury Compensation Program.

An easy solution is to say: "Anyone

harmed by the Covid-19 vaccine is

compensated under that program.

But that will

require legislative change.

Should that legislative change happen, lawyers

tell CNBC that there usually

is a retroactive provision once a new

vaccine is added to the VICP.

That would be good news for those

injured by the Covid vaccine, who would

then have access to a much larger pool

of cash that has a better track

record for rewarding compensation.

But for now, it remains to be

seen whether Congress will actually make the

change, meaning that compensation

options are limited.

I'm hoping people don't look at this and

say: "Heck, I'm limited in what I

can recover in the event of a serious

injury or the event of any injury.

So I'm not going to take it

or it's not overreaching by the government

whatsoever. It's the government doing what

it should be doing, which is

protecting the public

health, generally.