Covid-19
Scientists Call for the Development of Effective COVID-19 Vaccines
(CTN News) – According to WHO statistics, over 7 billion people worldwide have contracted COVID-19 (WHO). Starting in China in September 2019, it spread across the globe.
As a result of its rapid spread, by mid-2020, the entire planet had gone into lockdown. The world ground to a halt as people stayed indoors for weeks. That health crisis was the worst on a worldwide scale in recorded history.
Although SARS-COV2 has been reported to have hopped from bats to people, hundreds of additional viruses likely already reside in animals and might transfer once more, with far more severe consequences.
In an interview with USA Today, scientists voiced their fear over a future crisis and urged the global community to develop a more powerful vaccine to protect against all COVID-19.
Experts like the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy Director Michael Osterholm think this vaccination might stop the virus from spreading further.
Need for new vaccines.
Even while vaccines have proven highly effective, scientists have stressed their drawbacks.
“greater preparation for future viruses when they come to the fore,” Dr. Bruce Gellin, chief of global public health policy at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Pandemic Prevention Institute, emphasized.
In the past, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Gates Foundation, and the Michael Osterholm Centre collaborated to create plans of action to curb the spread of infectious diseases, including Ebola, Zika, and influenza.
According to Dr. Gellin, these three groups can serve as models and inspire others to help develop such cutting-edge and effective vaccines. Time, he concluded, would tell.
Vaccination efforts could begin sooner after the first signs of an outbreak, decreasing the time the virus has to spread from person to person.
In addition, scientists have proposed a five-point plan for implementing this strategy.
- Figure out how the virus behaves in the wild, and then create a vaccine that accounts for that.
- Vaccines that are effective and safe enough to use against all COVID-19. The importance of vaccine immune response research in moving forward with vaccine development.
- Determine the efficacy of vaccinations by administering them to animals.
- Get enough people on board and enough money to make it work.
To promptly identify the virus and take appropriate action against it, the firm plans to implement a comprehensive surveillance virus detection program by 2024, as outlined in the strategic road map.
How to do the vaccination
The scientists have laid forth a roadmap that highlights potential futures that could improve the efficacy of vaccines.
Vaccination against COVID-19 and its variants was proposed to begin early, either in childhood or adulthood.
Second, keeping a stockpile of these vaccines for future use is important. If a coronavirus outbreak occurs, states will need adequate supplies to cope with the initial wave of the outbreak and stop it in its tracks.
The third option can include regular vaccinations and sufficient supplies to deal with an unexpected outbreak.
It was stressed that the vaccines shouldn’t cost too much because low-income nations can’t afford to keep stockpiles or fund vaccine development.
What lies in the future?
Over two years have passed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and nobody wishes they were still living through those times.
During the pandemic, Dr. Gellin added, there was a lot more political will and funding available to tackle the problem head-on.
Osterholm said that while the proposed map detailed the strategy, it failed to indicate who would be responsible for supervising the operation.
He said, “But at least it can help government, donors, and scholars understand what is happening and what has to happen next.”
“Everyone has a transparent perspective of what needs to be done and what is getting done – or is not.”
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