Coronavirus vaccine will not be a magic bullet, scientists warn

Name: ‘Robust immune responses’ found in Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials point to 2021 release
Uploaded: 2020-08-08T10:00:15.000Z
Duration: 6 min 17 s
Description: ‘Robust immune responses’ found in Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials point to 2021 release

Handwashing, mask-wearing and social distancing may still be critical, even as potential vaccines roll out

But there are optimistic signs for at least some of the candidates currently going through testing

Reading Time:6 minutes

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Simone McCarthy

Published: 6:00pm, 8 Aug 2020Updated: 8:42pm, 25 Nov 2020

Health experts fear expectations for a Covid-19 vaccine may be too high, as producers announce delivery timelines for hundreds of millions of doses and countries lay down billions of dollars hoping to have first pick of a product that can put a swift end to the pandemic.

But no vaccine for the disease caused by the new coronavirus has yet proven effective and World Health Organisation director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned this week that “there is no silver bullet at the moment and there might never be”.

Experts say there is still a long way to go before we know if any of the experimental vaccines will be effective, and longer still before any approved products are distributed around the world to offer a shot at global herd immunity.

There are also many unknowns about the impact of any approved vaccines on the virus and whether they can stop transmission and, ultimately, the pandemic.

06:17

‘Robust immune responses’ found in Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials point to 2021 release

“Every attempt to make a vaccine is like a blind trial and error procedure in which you might succeed early in the process and you might not succeed even late in the process,” said David Morens, senior adviser to Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the US National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases.

“We are all hopeful that we will get it right the first time and that within six to 12 months we will have a vaccine and bring it to market. That is possible, but it would take a lot of luck.”

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