Oxford researches feel COVID-19 pandemic will end on its own; won’t need a vaccine
It has been over six months since we first heard of the coronavirus infection. While theories float around the origin and the first sighting of the deadly COVID-19 virus, scientists have been spending days to come up with a vaccine to prevent spread. From funding to speedy clearances, authorities are doing everything possible to have a vaccine ready to combat the surging cases.
02/7When will we have a vaccine ready?
While promising developments are being made on the clinical trials front, there is no real surity that a vaccine might be our only ray of hope in these critical times. There was a claim which suggested that even with a vaccine, such as with Oxford-AstraZeneca’s prototype, it might only offer limited protection. There is also the possibility of side-effects emerging, or vaccine not working for everyone. And there’s growing resistance from the anti-vaxxers community.
Despite the world sighting its hope on producing a vaccine, an Oxford researcher feels that the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused 5,00,000+ fatalities till now will vanish on its own without the need for a vaccine.
03/7How and when will the pandemic end?
Professor Sunetra Gupta, a researcher based out of Oxford University feels that while a lot of studies are being done on vaccine efficacy, the COVID-19 might be just another pandemic like the flu, and we might not need anything special for the same:
Speaking to a media house, the professor said that COVID-19 only poses an extreme danger for those belonging to high-risk categories, and those who are healthy can recover quickly:
“What we’ve seen is that in normal, healthy people, who are not elderly or frail or don’t have comorbidities, this virus is not something to worry about no more than how we worry about flu,”
04/7Who should get the vaccine first?
She is also a staunch supporter of the fact that vaccine, even though it might be used, should ideally be used for those with low immunity or those who are at a vulnerable group.
“What we’ve seen is that in normal, healthy people, who are not elderly or frail or don’t have comorbidities, this virus is not something to worry about no more than how we worry about flu,”
05/7COVID-19 less deadly than influenza outbreak?
Professor Gupta also mentioned that developing a vaccine for coronavirus is fairly easier than influenza, which was much more fatal for the human population.
“Hopefully with a lower death toll than influenza. I think it is fairly easy to make a vaccine for coronavirus. By the end of this summer, we should have proof that the vaccine works,”
She also said that while lockdowns across the globe helped curb the virus spread to an extent, they might not be the permanent non-pharmaceutical solution to fight the pandemic.
06/7″Can’t depend on a vaccine alone,” says WHO official
Dr Sunetra’s statement might be in accordance with what the WHO said a month back.
Even as WHO has taken into account the speedy developments happening on the global front, an official from the health body once said that a ready vaccine for public deployment might take upto 4-5 years to happen and it would be wrong for the world to pin hopes on a vaccine alone. Other measures need to be put in place too.
07/7How long does it really take for a vaccine to get ready?
While vaccines being developed and tested right now have been so far considered “safe” and “effective”, deployment and availability of a vaccine for the public will take a longer time. From the trials, testing out possible side-effects, costing and production, making an effective vaccine can sometimes take years. This is perhaps the first time a vaccine is being developed at such a fast pace.