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Pfizer announced this week that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate has performed extremely well in its clinical trials, a reassuring sign that months of investment and fast-paced work on vaccines to protect people against the virus were going to pay off. That was never a sure thing – immunologists and virologists were pretty sure it would be possible to make a vaccine that would block coronavirus, but in pharmaceutical development, there is no guarantee.
This success makes it as important as ever to redouble efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, which is currently out of control in most of the US In March, when the pandemic was first accelerating, Public health officials emphasized the importance of “flattening the curve,” suppressing transmission so that the number of infections remained at a manageable level. After it became clear that eliminating all cases of the virus was not going to happen, the goal was to prevent the number of sick people from overwhelming the medical system.
The experts also emphasized the importance of flattening the curve so that researchers and clinicians have time to figure out how to treat COVID-19 and develop a vaccine. For the most part, people are better off contracting the disease now than in March or April. More tests are available, doctors have more tools to help patients who are hospitalized, and there is more understanding of disease progression.
Having a vaccine on the horizon supercharges the importance of preventing as many people from getting sick now as possible. The first people to get a licensed vaccine, due to risk factors like job or age, probably won’t get it until early 2021. Most people who aren’t first in line won’t be able to get vaccinated until spring or summer . But everyone who can stay healthy until then is someone who may never get the disease. Or, if they do, they might have a milder case than they would otherwise. Taking strong action with Public health guidelines that can help people get through the winter, spring, or summer now have even more benefits.
There are, as always, caveats: Pfizer only published a small amount of information in a press release. We don’t know how long the protection from this vaccine might last, and we don’t know whether it prevents people from getting infected or just keeps them from feeling sick if they contract the virus. We should know more after more data is released. A vaccine is not going to end the pandemic on its own, and good public health practices, such as wearing masks, will be important after people start getting vaccinated.
Despite the necessary precautions, the Pfizer ad turned on a light at the end of the tunnel. The apparent success of this vaccine is a good sign for the other vaccines in development – the candidate vaccine from the drug company Moderna is very similar to the Pfizer vaccine, so chances are high that it will work as well. Many of the others in development point to the same area of the virus that Pfizer did, which is another sign that the research was in the right direction.
However, the news comes just as there is another mountain to flatten. COVID-19 cases are rising to horrible new heights in the United States. In the first 10 days of November, 1 million new people in the United States he tested positive for the disease. Almost every state is heading in the wrong direction, health care systems in many places are already completely overwhelmed.
Time to flatten the curve one more time. It won’t be easy or popular: After months of ever-changing restrictions, there is less appetite for strict public health responses such as lockdowns. But keeping people alive and our hospitals running is a fundamental reason to suppress the virus. Keeping things together until a vaccine can ease some of the burden is another.
The light is still months away, but it is there. We just have to make sure that as many people as possible can access.
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