Promising vaccine still faces hurdles
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/11/2020 (1544 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
If COVID-19 could be eliminated by hopes and wishes, Monday’s announcement of success with an experimental vaccine would signal the end of the pandemic and we would join the jubilation. Unfortunately, crucial information is missing before the drug can be responsibly declared a reliable path out of the global crisis.
Drug giant Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, announced their vaccine raised no safety concerns after it was tested on 43,500 people in six countries. Two doses of the vaccine three weeks apart achieved immunity in 90 per cent of the experimental subjects, a rate of immunity much higher than expected.
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The stock market soared after the announcement, as did the optimism of pandemic-weary people who long for a medical elixir to stop the spread of the virus that is currently plaguing Manitoba at a frightful rate.
But pragmatic scientists — by training, they’re wary of medical news that sounds too good to be true — note that Pfizer’s announcement was made in a press release, not a peer-reviewed medical journal, and it lacked many critical details. For example, Pfizer didn’t detail which patient populations were exposed, or whether the studies were conducted in the setting of an outbreak.
In other words, it’s far too early for Manitobans to think about breaking free of the code red restrictions while this province is fighting against an outbreak that has hundreds of people testing positive every day.
It’s vital that all residents continue to mask up and sanitize, continue to adhere to the social distancing guidelines that prohibit dangerously large gatherings and continue to push for more rapid contact tracing.
That said, there is room for hope that Pfizer’s announcement of a 90 per cent rate of effectiveness withstands rigorous investigation and, if it proves safe, that Manitobans can get access to the vaccine as soon as possible.
Pfizer and its partner believe they can supply 50 million doses before the end of this year and 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.
Canada already has secured orders for 20 million doses of the two-dose vaccine so it can be used here as soon as the company gets the necessary regulatory approvals from Health Canada.
Who would get it first? The distribution of any COVID-19 shots will be guided by Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization, which has said people who are most vulnerable and those who are most likely to die from contracting the virus should be first to get the vaccine. That includes residents of long-term care homes, people on the front lines of health care, and people with pre-existing health problems that make them less able to fight off the virus.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday the Pfizer announcement was “encouraging” and he hopes it should be available to all Canadians over the first three months of 2021.
Between Mr. Trudeau’s optimism, and the down-to-earth realism of scientists who point out the vaccine is still a long way from mainstream use, perhaps there’s room for responsible hope.
Mr. Trudeau told reporters: “There’s light at the end of the tunnel.” Yes, the light remains far away, but it’s still encouraging to see it.
