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It has been a difficult and strange year. The spread of covid-19 has hit our country hard, both in spring and autumn. Everyone wants this to end, but we really must continue our efforts to minimize our contacts and reduce the spread of infection in society.
But now there is something to be hopeful of. On Monday, the first covid-19 vaccine was approved for use in the EU. Vaccinations are expected to start in Sweden, as well as other EU countries, in the middle of the day. The Comirnaty vaccine from Pfizer and Biontech came first. More vaccines are in the approval process.
Never before has it been so fast to develop completely new vaccines. A year ago, no one had heard of the new coronavirus, sars-cov2. It is a huge feat of research that has only been possible thanks to collaboration between researchers, pharmaceutical companies, authorities and other organizations. We have all worked hard and invested a lot of money to accelerate development.
While some believe that The covid-19 vaccine cannot arrive fast enough, there are others who are concerned because it has happened so quickly.
Because vaccines are used in healthy people to reduce the risk of disease, the safety requirements are very high. Many millions of people around the world will be vaccinated now, in a huge vaccination campaign like no other. The data we have seen so far is very promising, the vaccines appear to be safe and very effective. Some people will experience mild and transient side effects such as fatigue, headache, and chills. The European Medicines Agency has carefully examined all the data and found that the benefit of the vaccine outweighs the potential for adverse reactions. This review cannot be skipped, even during a pandemic. But it has been rushed, in normal cases it may take a year for the company to request approval of a recommendation. We don’t know everything about vaccines yet and it will take a while before you know, for example, how long protection lasts or if there are very unusual but perhaps serious side effects. But the benefits remain clear.
The big challenge now is to produce enough vaccine doses, everyone wants the vaccine. The number of doses will be limited at first, and therefore priority should be given to groups at higher risk of becoming seriously ill. Add that Pfizer and Biontech vaccines should be stored at minus 70 degrees. Also, two doses are needed at three week intervals. It is, to say the least, a challenge for regions to plan vaccinations.
At the same time, it is important that vaccines start as soon as possible. The spread of the infection in our country is high. Age is the biggest risk factor for getting seriously ill and dying in covid-19, it is reasonable to start vaccinating the elderly. Vaccines will save lives. But even we who cannot get vaccinated for a while can help, following the advice and reducing the infection in society. Then even more lives will be saved.
