A leading pediatrician warns that we have to start convincing people now to take a vaccine for the coronavirus if one is developed. Dr. Phoebe Danziger, a pediatrician, says she is all too familiar with skeptics who mistrust the safety of vaccines in general, let alone one that was fast-tracked by political pressure.

In an opinion piece Danziger wrote for The New York Times, she said that a recent poll showed that only one half to three-quarters of Americans would be willing to get the vaccine — which is not enough to provide immunity for the country. While the anti-vaccine movement was once spearheaded by wealthy whites, the doctor said that today it's the domain of liberal parents who prefer to raise their children naturally and those who fear the government is infringing upon their freedom.

Our track record for vaccinations is not encouraging. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that only 40% to 45% of U.S. adults received the flu vaccine in the past decade, as noted in The Hill.

And the Congressional Research Service says that individual states do have the right to mandate vaccinations and they have already exercised that right with children, allowing for a few exceptions — religious reasons, for example.

To address these issues, Danziger says that we need to change our strategy and convince religious leaders, media personalities, and alternative healthcare providers to encourage Americans to get vaccinated. And we also need to convince people that vaccines are safe, perhaps by creating a "green vaccine" with natural ingredients and additives.

She concludes by saying that we can't simply accept that if a vaccine is developed, Americans will be flocking to healthcare practitioners for their shot.

"Sufficiently widespread vaccination will be possible only if the values and goals of a vaccine program are discussed explicitly, transparently and early," she wrote.