Coronavirus pandemic: Will a vaccine solve our problems?
Three months of lockdown and we are learning many ways of living the new normal scenario. The top minds of medicine are working endlessly to find a vaccine or a possible cure for the deadly virus. Officials and humanitarians have also come forward to fund or help those in need. While we all pin our hopes on an effective vaccine that is able to root out the virus, the one mistake which can actually make the situation worse is not making the vaccine available for all
Here's one mistake the world shouldn't be making
Billionaire and philanthropist, Bill Gates, known for his work towards promoting public healthcare voiced his opinion regarding the same. Speaking to a media house, the 64-year-old said that all vaccine companies should ensure that vaccines in work should be made available to all sections of the public, and not make it into a transactional deal:
“If we just let drugs and vaccines go to the highest bidder, instead of to the people and the places where they are most needed, we’ll have a longer, more unjust deadlier pandemic,”
The comments came in the backdrop of rich countries, such as the US and Europe investing millions into the global vaccine race and claims of a vaccine being made available for a certain country first floating around of late.
The same opinion was echoed through the WHO (World Health Organisation) and the European Commission, who asked countries to not vaccine development into a race and give into "unhealthy competition"
What is the current status of vaccine development?
Currently, out of 110+ groups worldwide, at least 7 vaccine candidate groups are undergoing mid and large scale clinical trials. While some have received good funding from officials, some are also in talks of expediting vaccine trials overseas. In the middle of all this, there have been steady talks of companies and even countries inking deals to get their hands on a vaccine first. Even though there's a long wait and process before a vaccine is available for the masses, this grave mistake of "reserving" the vaccine can aggravate the pandemic by huge proportions.
There's also the issue of the vaccine being available for all. Even if a vaccine is approved for use, we don't know for sure if there will be enough doses available for everyone, will it be priced economically or available in all regions, even though companies have ramped up production and promises a lot of doses. Then again, come the questions of ethics and priority over who gets access to the vaccine first- the elderlies, pregnant women, healthy adults, kids or others at risk. The premise of herd immunity, again, makes the dilemma of inoculation through a vaccine difficult.
Learning lessons from battling the HIV-AIDS pandemic
Adding that nations need to come together to fight the crisis as one, Gates also cited the HIV-AIDS pandemic, stating some of the measures which helped countries jointly fight the viral infection, which was responsible for infecting more than 70 million countries alone. With good measures and healthcare, countries like India have been able to curb the spread of the infection. Bill Gates also added that handling the HIV pandemic could be a learning lesson to take notes from for public health officials.
“One of the best lessons in the fight against HIV/AIDS is the importance of building this large, fair global distribution system to get the drugs out to everyone."