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6:15 pm
Sunday 15 November 2020
London – (BBC)
We will feel the impact of the new corona virus vaccine during the summer, and life can return to its normal course with the onset of winter next year.
This is what said university professor Ugur Shaheen, one of the founders of the Biontech company, which co-created the vaccine formulation.
Shaheen added that the current winter will be difficult, as the vaccine will not yet have a clear impact on the number of infections.
And last week, Biontec and the pharmaceutical company Fayez said initial analyzes showed that the vaccine, which was developed by scientists on both sides, could prevent Covid-19 disease in more than 90 percent of people.
43,000 people participated in the vaccine trials, in 6 countries.
The vaccine is given in two doses, three weeks apart.
In an interview with the BBC, Shaheen said he is confident that the vaccine will reduce the spread of the infection and prevent symptoms of the disease from appearing in those who receive it.
He added that the vaccine could cut the incidence of infection in half, which will have a great impact.
Shaheen said: “I am very confident that infection among people will decrease with this effective vaccine, perhaps not by 90 percent, but by 50 percent, but we must not forget that even this can lead to a massive decrease in the spread of the epidemic “.
After announcing the effectiveness of the vaccine last Monday, John Bell, a professor at the University of Oxford in Great Britain, said that life could return to normal with the arrival of spring.
“I might be the first person to say this, but I say it with confidence,” added Bill.
But Shaheen said it would take longer.
He noted that if things still went well, delivery of the vaccine would begin “at the end of this year and the beginning of next.”
He explained that the goal is to provide the world with more than 300 million doses by next April, which “will barely allow us to start making an impact.”
He added that the greatest impact will come at a later time, adding: “Summer will help us because the contagion rate will decrease in the summer, and it is very necessary to achieve a high vaccination rate until the fall or winter of next year.”
He stressed that all immunization schedules need to be completed by next fall.
In response to a question about whether the effect of the vaccine in the elderly is similar to that in younger groups, Shaheen said he hoped to get a clearer idea in the next three weeks.
And he said that it is not yet clear how long the immunity the vaccine provides after the second dose of the vaccine, but it will not be difficult to give an additional dose to boost immunity if it is noticed that it weakens significantly after a year.
Regarding side effects, Shaheen said the most important effects detected were mild to moderate pain in the injection site for several days, while some people developed mild to moderate fever.
“We did not notice any serious symptoms that could cause the suspension or suspension of the study,” he added.
The vaccine is reported to be one of 11 vaccines currently in the final phase of testing.
