The vaccine is here, but miles and miles to go…
05 Dec 2020
Do you think that the vaccine is the end-all of the Pandemic? No, says the WHO Chief Mr. Tedros Ghebreyesus. Mr. Tedros says that “A vaccine will complement the other tools we have, not replace them,” he said. “A vaccine on its own will not end the pandemic.”
The remark of Mr. Tedros Ghebreyesus warns that we have to continue all the existing measures to fight the pandemic to wipe out the virus from the Globe. It will take years for such an eliminating process. So in brief, we have to continue our life wearing our masks, sanitizing, and social distancing. At the same time, it’s a fact that the vaccine may mitigate the wide-spreading syndrome of the pandemic.
The challenges ahead are crucial. The vaccine needs to be applied on a priority basis at first. So it will take a long time to get the globe fully vaccinated. In the meantime, there are chances of spreading pandemics from those who are not vaccinated. The mass production of the vaccine sufficiently is also a big challenge to pharmaceutical companies. Most of the vaccines are to be preserved in minus temperature. This the other big challenge we are facing. The storage facilities in almost all countries are not adequate. The logistical problems also raise the challenge.
All the vaccines now exist, claim 62-95 % effectiveness. At the same time, the price-range and preservation mechanism varies from company to company. The Oxford University-AstraZeneca claims 60-92 % effectiveness and can be preserved at regular fridge temperature. Moderna but, claim 95 % effectiveness and can be preserved at -20 degree Centigrade. Pfizer-BioNTech claims that their vaccine is having 95 % effective and can be preserved at -70 degree Centigrade. At the same time, Gamaleya-Sputnik-V claims 92 % effectiveness and can be preserved at regular fridge temperature.
The vaccines need to be applied two-dose against the Covid-19. Among the four pharmaceutical companies, The Oxford University-AstraZeneca and Gamaleya-Sputnik-V are of vector viral type. However, the former has -genetically modified virus in addition to the viral type. Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are of RNA type in general. However, Pfizer-BioNTech has -part of the virus genetic code in addition to the RNA type. All companies are optimistic but at the same time pros and cons of the vaccine are there and debates are on as the burning topic among the research scholars. This is also a vital challenge, often we comfortably forget.
The invention of any vaccine is no doubt, the greatest medical achievement, but its effect on people and disease especially on pandemic is a slow process. In the cases of Diphtheria, Whooping cough, and Measles, it took decades for either the control or the elimination process of the disease. At the same time it’s a fact according to WHO, that every year, vaccines have saved an estimated two to three million lives, and prevented more than 20 life-threatening diseases.
We have to bear in mind that Covid-19 is a global pandemic, not a national epidemic, so we have to eliminate the virus from everywhere; until we remain safe. So definitely, we have to continue the war against the pandemic until it is no more in the globe. However, the experts all over the world unanimously say that it will take at least two-year’s time to wipe out the pandemic completely from the globe.
