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The chairman of the UK Vaccine Task Force has said that the first generation of COVID-19 vaccines “is likely imperfect” and that “they may not work for everyone.”
Writing in The lancetKate Bingham said that no vaccine in the history of medicine “has been long awaited” and that “vaccination is widely considered the only true exit strategy from the pandemic that is currently spreading globally.”
But he cautioned against over-optimism and that any vaccine might not work for everyone, or for long.
“We don’t know if we will ever have a vaccine,” he wrote. “It is important to avoid complacency and over-optimism.
“The first generation of vaccines are likely to be imperfect, and we must be prepared that they do not prevent infection but reduce symptoms, and even then they may not work for everyone or for a long time.”
The Vaccine Working Group was created by Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser. It was created under the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in May 2020, and Ms Bingham reports directly to the Prime Minister.
In his article in The Lancet, he said that “the strategy has been to build a diverse portfolio in different formats to give the UK the best chance of providing a safe and effective vaccine, recognizing that many, and possibly all, of these vaccines could fail” .
Ms. Bingham’s article was produced as a review of coronavirus vaccine research that required a standardized approach to assessing the effectiveness of all potential COVID-19 inoculations.
Publishing their findings in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Oxford University researchers said a meaningful comparison of different candidates is required to ensure that only the most effective vaccines are implemented.
Dr Susanne Hodgson of the University of Oxford, who is the lead author of the review, said: “It is unlikely that we will see a single winning vaccine in the race against Covid-19.
“Different technologies will bring different advantages that are relevant in different situations, and in addition, there will likely be challenges with manufacturing and supplying a single vaccine on the required scale, at least initially.
“Taking a standardized approach to measuring the success of vaccines in clinical trials will be important in making meaningful comparisons so that the most effective candidates can be presented for wider use.”
There are more than 200 vaccine candidates in development worldwide, with 44 in clinical trials.
Of the 44, nine are in phase three of clinical evaluation and are being administered to thousands of people to confirm safety and efficacy.
