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The pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced some time ago that its preliminary vaccine is 90 percent effective and that it must request an urgent approval in a short time.
The news was hailed as a breakthrough by some experts and sent equity markets higher. Subsequently, several manufacturers have announced that they have a vaccine that is up to 95 percent effective.
Where you live can determine when to get vaccinated
Criticism of the authorities
Now Virology and Genecology Professor Terje Ingemar Traavik is responding. The coronavirus vaccines now being sought for urgent approval may help fewer people get serious illnesses or die from the coronavirus. However, he believes that the authorities are unable to tell the whole story.
– When vaccinated people become infected with the virus, they can still shed virus and infect others. Vaccine manufacturers have made no further claim, and recent peer-reviewed research articles emphasize this, Traavik tells TV 2.
The National Institute of Public Health writes on its website that the purpose of vaccination is to prevent disease or make the course of disease milder without exposing yourself to serious side effects.
– But the vaccines now being sought for urgent approval do not help prevent the spread of infection, says Traavik.
Explain that an ideal vaccine should protect the individual against disease and society against the spread of infection.
– One of the three ideal goals associated with a vaccine has been achieved. It’s about people not getting seriously ill, says the professor, adding that the vaccine doesn’t stop the spread of infection.
– One should wonder if the vaccine will stop the pandemic. It should be emphasized that the 90-95 percent effect applies to the development of prevented diseases, not the spread of the virus, he says.
Professor of Virology and Genecology, Terje Ingemar Traavik. Photo: Private
He thinks it has not been clear whether vaccines cause serious side effects.
– They have tested too short a time for them to draw definitive conclusions about it, says Traavik.
– None of the four vaccine candidates who are at the forefront of the race for approval and commercialization is therefore ideal, believes the professor.
Traavik also says he fears that people will relax more with infection control measures when a vaccine is available.
– What happens if we only get vaccines that alleviate the disease, but do not stop the transmission of the infection? What if herd immunity is impossible? writes in a post about the northern Norwegian debate.
Urgent approval not necessarily positive
Several researchers and experts have previously stated that they hope to be able to start vaccinating in Norway from spring 2021. Traavik says that under normal conditions it can take several years to get a vaccine approved. He believes there is not enough knowledge about what to expect from a vaccine that is urgently approved.
– It is faster to produce a vaccine with the methods that are now available. However, emergency approval is based primarily on the fact that the vaccine is effective in preventing disease.
– Secondly, it must be shown that it is safe, that is, that vaccination does not cause serious side effects.
– Third, it must be able to produce in sufficient quantities over time. However, with urgent approval, there is no requirement for the effect that can stop the pandemic:
– Namely, the fact that vaccinated individuals who are later infected do not shed viruses and do not infect others, he explains.
Cheer up
Professor Traavik hopes that people will remain calm and encourages maintaining infection control restrictions for a while longer.
– I hope that the authorities will use the vaccines in those who are seriously ill and wait with the mass vaccination before receiving the results of the ongoing investigations.
The vaccine is 94.5 percent effective against serious diseases
– Some vaccines more suitable than others
Deputy Health Director Espen Rostrup Nakstad at FHI told TV 2 that some vaccines that are developed are likely to be better suited to preventing the spread of infection than others, as vaccinated people do not spread the disease further.
– Other types of vaccines are likely to be better suited to prevent serious diseases, but they do not necessarily prevent the vaccinated person from being infected.
– How do you know which vaccine to take if there are big differences between them?
– This will be given clear advice on when the time comes. It depends on which vaccines are available and which the EU buys, says Nakstad.
Creator of the vaccine: – Life returns to normal next winter
It is still important to follow infection control advice.
Professor Traavik is concerned that people will become more relaxed as a result of the positive news about vaccines. Espen Nakstad also believes that this is dangerous.
– But I think most people understand that a vaccine is still several months away and that it is still important to follow infection control advice.
– Can you be sure that a vaccine is better suited to prevent infection detection when a vaccine is urgently approved?
– We will know more about this when the test is complete and the documentation is available.
– How long before this information is available?
– No, only the companies themselves know. Some of them are probably not there in that many weeks, Nakstad says.
