ATLANTA - New Center for Disease Control (CDC) Director Dr. Mandy Cohen is joining forces with immunization partners from across the country to come up with a plan to rebuild trust around vaccines.

Dr. Cohen says it’s especially important as the agency urges Americans to get the new COVID shot.

“We have to build relationships. We’re all people at the end of the day. A lot of that is showing up, sharing your own personal story, so you’re going to see that from the CDC and I hope that that will help build trust,” she said.

With conflicting COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and wavering trust, the CDC admits it’s a hurdle to overcome, but Dr. Cohen says transparency and simplicity will help.

“We know that it takes time to build trust, but we’re going to keep working at it every day,” she says. She adds that she wouldn’t recommend anything that she wouldn’t recommend for her own family.

“I want folks to understand that I’m not just the CDC Director, I’m also a mom, and a wife, and a daughter. I wouldn’t recommend something for Georgia or for the American people that I wouldn’t recommend for my own family,” said Cohen.

The CDC now recommends a COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 6 months and older. The data shows that there is no age group that is free of risks. Some ages might be at a smaller risk, though the risk is still there.

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