Moderna’s co-founder Noubar Afeyan on the growing pushback against a COVID-19 vaccine

December 14, 2020

Moderna’s Co-Founder Noubar Afeyan On the Growing Pushback Against a COVID-19 Vaccine | GZERO World

"In any debate, if one side has to offer facts and the other side can offer doubts and they're considered of equal value, then the ones who offer doubts will always have an advantage." Moderna co-founder Noubar Afeyan isn't naïve about the pushback that his company's COVID-19 vaccine will receive when it hits the US market. Disinformation around vaccine safety and efficacy was rampant even before the pandemic began. His conversation with Ian Bremmer was part of the latest episode of GZERO World.

Watch the GZERO World episode: A Shot in the Arm: Moderna’s Co-Founder on the COVID-19 Vaccine

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Palestinian children look at rubble following Israeli forces' withdrawal from the area, after Israel and Hamas agreed on the Gaza ceasefire, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 10, 2025.

REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

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Latin America News Agency

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U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a welcoming ceremony with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, November 9, 2017.

REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

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Moderna’s co-founder Noubar Afeyan on the growing pushback against a COVID-19 vaccine

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Israel approved the Gaza ceasefire deal on Friday morning, bringing the ceasefire officially into effect. The Israeli military must withdraw its forces to an agreed perimeter inside Gaza within 24 hours, and Hamas has 72 hours to return the hostages.

We’re living in a time of record-high conflict, a level of violence not seen since World War II. The past four years have been marred by deadly battles in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, and beyond, with approximately 14% of the planet’s population now impacted by war.

Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.

French President Emmanuel Macron is scrambling to pull France out of a deepening political free fall that’s already toppled five prime ministers in two years. Tomorrow he’ll try again—and this time, says Eurasia Group’s Mujtaba Rahman, the fifth pick might finally stick.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

After two years of war in Gaza, a ceasefire and peace deal may finally be within reach, and Ian Bremmer says former President Trump deserves credit for.

Washington and Toronto buzzed this week with talk of the Canada-US relationship. On Tuesday Prime Minister Mark Carney joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office for a warm but inconclusive meeting.

China has implemented broad new restrictions on exports of rare earth and other critical minerals vital for semiconductors, the auto industry, and military technology, of which it controls 70% of the global supply.