The first coronavirus vaccine could be available as early as the end of 2020, following the success of Pfizer’s clinical trial. // Photo courtesy of Dado Revic / Reuters.
Pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced on Monday, Nov. 9, that an early analysis showed its vaccine was more than 90% effective.
Pfizer is currently in Phase Three of its clinical trial, which consists of nearly 44,000 participants. Testing began in July, where half of the participants got the vaccine and the other half got a salt water placebo. So far, 94 volunteers have gotten sick with COVID-19, according to The New York Times.
“It’s very promising,” said associate professor of health professions Dr. Martine Hackett. “The next steps now are for final approval from the Food and Drug Administration, and then once that takes place, the real work begins on the distribution of the vaccine.”
The vaccine may be ready as early as the end of this year, with “30 to 40 million doses of the vaccine” available, according to Pfizer’s Chief Executive Albert Bourla.
Some people are thrilled and “can’t wait to be the first in line to take the vaccine when offered,” and others are “more cautious,” according to Hackett.
“It does seem promising, but … I personally don’t feel like I would be comfortable taking the vaccine that was just produced,” said Erin Rosner, a junior geographic information systems major.
Maya Palmer, a senior biology major, is also skeptical of the vaccine’s rapid development. “I just think it’s really too early to say,” she said. “I’d take it if it was endorsed by the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] … I’m not super [trusting] of big pharmaceutical companies.”
The distribution of Pfizer’s vaccine will be complex, as it has to be stored at around minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit) until shortly before it is injected, according to The New York Times. The vaccine must also be given in two doses, spaced three weeks apart.
“The challenge is the number of doses that need to be delivered, and we can imagine that this would be a challenge in the United States [alone],” Hackett said. “But … since this is a pandemic – it’s a worldwide virus – this also has to be the case in other countries and developing countries, that they need to have similar access.”
Up to 1.3 billion doses of the coronavirus vaccine could be produced annually, according to Pfizer and the company’s German partner BioNTech. They expect to generate 50 million doses and potentially vaccinate 12.5 million Americans.
Hackett said the majority of the population will not have access to the vaccine until “this time next year.”
Rosner disagreed and said that there will not be a vaccine readily available to the public within the next year, claiming it will take three to five years to get a vaccine that is as obtainable as the flu shot. “A vaccine that has logistical issues like [this one] that needs two doses and needs to be cooled is just not an equitable one,” she said.
Exactly who will qualify for the initial doses has not been decided, but groups that are at a higher risk for infection or are more vulnerable to the virus are likely to be prioritized. That could include “first responders, medical personnel, the elderly and educators,” Hackett said.
The question is whether Americans will resist getting the vaccine. “We certainly know that for even a very simple prevention measure like mask wearing, there is a lot of resistance in different places and levels of compliance,” Hackett said. “There was already vaccine resistance among certain populations for well-developed and successful vaccines like for [the] measles.”
The resistance to the vaccine may stem from its side effects. Scientists anticipate that the shots will cause “enervating flu-like” side effects, including “sore arms, muscle aches and fever,” according to NBC News.
Since COVID-19 vaccines are developing quickly, there is limited data available on the side effects, which is a concern to Rosner.
“I might not be interested in taking a vaccine [for COVID-19] until it’s like a couple of years old, mostly because … the long-term effects are not apparent yet,” Rosner said.
Hackett said side effects should not be a deterrent to getting the vaccine, as they are not worse than the possibility of contracting the virus.
The goal of a coronavirus vaccine is to improve people’s immune systems, so if they are exposed to the virus, they will have “less severe consequences or perhaps not even get the disease at all,” unlike somebody who did not receive a vaccine, according to Hackett.
The coronavirus is not over yet and restrictions are still being upheld as cases are on the rise – and are expected to continue rising – during the winter months.
“We have to be vigilant and keep up our attention to wearing masks and social distancing, especially indoors,” Hackett said. “The potential of the vaccine is very exciting because it [is] sort of a light at the end of the tunnel, but we are not there yet.”