The first COVID-19 vaccines are not expected to control the pandemic; understand

Expectations for an effective and safe vaccine against the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), produced in record time, are high. This is because this immunizer against COVID-19 could, in theory, prevent a second wave of the pandemic that begins to affect countries in Europe. However, British and American researchers recommend moderating these feelings to avoid future frustrations.

“We do not know if we will ever have a vaccine. It is important to avoid complacency and excessive optimism. The first generation of vaccines tend to be imperfect, and we must be prepared so that they do not prevent infection, but reduce symptoms and even so Therefore, it is possible that they will not work for everyone or for a long time ”, defends the analysis on vaccines against COVID-19, published in the scientific journal. The lancet. The author of the text is Kate Bingham, head of the British task force created for the development of immunizers during the pandemic.

Unfortunately, according to Bingham, the hypothesis of possible COVID-19 vaccines, in development today, cannot be ruled out if they prove ineffective. Or even ineffective for specific groups of the population, such as the elderly. In this sense, the author argues that immunizers will not be “a miracle solution” or that they will allow life to return to normal “overnight.”

In addition to authority in the UK, a growing number of experts are trying to gauge expectations for a vaccine against the new coronavirus. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has already positioned itself on the issue, in addition to Brazilian researchers.

Vaccines against severe cases of COVID-19

It is also possible that vaccines against COVID-19, under development, act slightly differently than expected, albeit in a positive way. According to the infectious disease specialist and chief scientist of the White House coronavirus task force, Anthony Fauci, the vast majority of vaccines against COVID-19 should not prevent contagion, but rather the most serious form of the disease.

“Or main objective for [vacinas contra] most viruses are to prevent clinical illness, to prevent symptomatic illness, and not necessarily to prevent infection. This is a secondary objective. The main thing to do is, if people get infected, prevent them from getting sick. And if you prevent them from getting sick, you will end up preventing them from getting seriously ill, “Fauci said during an online event on Monday (26).

If an immunizer can eventually prevent coronavirus infection, controlling this pandemic would be much more effective. However, Fauci maintains that it is much more likely that mass immunization will not generate this expected result and will not lead to immediate control of COVID-19.

Approval of the vaccine against COVID-19

In an article published in the magazine Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers evaluated how effective a vaccine could be against COVID-19. The challenge lies in the complexity of the disease, which can be accompanied by no symptoms or more than 10 simultaneously. One of the risks that the group of scientists warns is that of vaccines that can prevent the appearance of symptoms, but not infection. For example, this scenario could lead to a quiet increase in asymptomatic cases of the coronavirus.

To avoid this situation, it would be essential to monitor, through tests, the presence or not of infection in volunteers who received the COVID-19 vaccines in studies. This occurs even in cases where people do not show any symptoms of the infection.

Generally speaking, immunizers can prevent the disease completely, prevent mild and mild symptoms, or avoid only the severe form of the infection, which is considered fatal. All these possibilities will be positive in the control of COVID-19, it will only be necessary to understand the limitations between the different immunizers available to make the best vaccination choice for each group.

To access the article published in the journal The lancet, Click here. And to see the article of Annals of Internal Medicine, Click here.

Source: G1