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Reuters
A group of leading scientists has warned that even an effective coronavirus vaccine will not return to normal life in the spring.
A vaccine is often seen as a holy grail that will end an epidemic.
But we need to be “real” about what the vaccine can get and when, according to a report put together by researchers from the Royal Society.
They said sanctions may need to be “gradually relaxed,” as the vaccine could take up to a year to roll out.
More than 200 vaccines have been developed by scientists around the world to protect against the virus, which is happening at an unprecedented pace.
Dr Fiona Cooley, of the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, said: “One vaccine offers high hopes for a possible end to the epidemic, but we know that the history of vaccine development is fraught with many failures.” Dr. of the Lung Institute. Said Fina Quli.
There is optimism among people, including UK government scientific advisers, that some people could be vaccinated this year and that mass vaccinations could begin early next year.
However, the Royal Society’s report warns that it will be a lengthy process.
Prof., Head of Chemical Engineering, Imperial. “Even when the vaccine is available, it does not mean that everyone is vaccinated within a month, we are talking about six months, nine months … one year,” said Nilay Shah. College London.
“There is no question of life suddenly becoming normal in March.”
The report says there are still “enormous” challenges ahead.
Some of the experimental approaches taken – such as RNA. Vaccines – have never been produced in large quantities before.
There are questions around raw materials – both vaccines and glass vials – and refrigerator capacity, some vaccines need to be stored in minus 80C.
Prof. Shah estimates that people will be vaccinated 10 times faster than the annual flu campaign and will have a full-time job for about 30,000 trained workers.
“I’m worried, is there enough thinking to go into the whole system?” He says.
Preliminary trial data suggest that the vaccine is stimulating the immune response, but studies have not yet shown whether it either gives full protection or reduces the symptoms of covid.
Unanswered questions
Professor Charles Bangham, president of immunology at Imperial College London, said: “We do not know when an effective vaccine will be available, how effective it will be and, of course, how fast it can be delivered.
“Even if it is effective, it is unlikely that we will be able to fully normalize it, so there will be a vaccination scale, even after the introduction of the vaccine we know to be effective.
“We have to slowly relax into some other interventions.”
And many questions that would suggest a vaccination strategy remain unanswered, such as:
- Will one shot be enough or will a booster be needed?
- Will the vaccine work better in older people with older immune systems?
Researchers have warned that it will take some time to respond to the issue of long-term immunity, and we still don’t know if people need to be vaccinated every two years or if one shot will do.
Commenting on the study, Dr. of the University of Bath. Andrew Preston said: “The vaccine is clearly described as a silver bullet and will eventually be our salvation, but it may not be an immediate process.”
He said there needs to be a discussion on whether a “vaccine passport” is needed to ensure people coming into the country are vaccinated.
And DPrest warned that vaccine hesitation seems to be a growing problem that has turned into an anti-mask, anti-downdown ideology.
“If mass people refuse to be vaccinated, have we left them to protect themselves or have children been vaccinated to go to school, or for staff in care homes? There are a lot of questions.”
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