The COVID Vaccination Conundrum
As we said goodbye to the historically challenging year that was 2020, we looked to 2021 with a certain sense of hope that COVID would be something that we could look to contain and perhaps even overcome through the mass global rollout of a variety of vaccines. However, as a tough 2020 drew to a close, it introduced a few, unwanted tag-a-longs in the form of new Corona virus variants, one being detected in South Africa, the other more prominent in the United Kingdom – although since then the new variants have made their way into other countries too. Now the somewhat comforting prospect of being able to combat COVID-19 through the rollout of the vaccines has been dulled due to the challenges around the efficiency and effectiveness of the vaccines on the new variants.
The unanticipated challenge presented by the new and highly-transmissible COVID variants is certainly a daunting one given the massive and rigorous trialling each vaccine undergoes, not to mention the financial resources required in order to manufacture and distribute it once it has been approved for use. So, where to from here for the pharmaceutical companies behind the vaccines? Well, it may be back to the drawing board as there are some key differences between the virus strain that the vaccine was developed for, versus the B1.1.7 strain that is now spreading quickly across the US and UK as well as the strain of concern 501Y.V2 that is now dominant in South Africa and Brazil. It is normal for viruses to mutate however this does have direct implications for the effectiveness of the current vaccines intended for widespread use. According to David Ho, a virologist who heads up the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Centre at Columbia University, “the world has allowed the virus to infect 100 million people already “which in turn presents “100 million chances for mutation.”
The most likely workaround for the problem presented by the new virus variants is to either look to add booster shots to the existing vaccines, or to develop new vaccines specifically for the new strains. Either way, this is good for business for the pharmaceutical companies who already stand to benefit from the vaccines that are on the market. The global requirement for either additional booster shots, or a new strain-specific vaccine all together means increased as well as sustained revenue for these companies. Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna are all working on either booster shots or vaccination revisions in order to contend with the new virus strains. That being said, once again the race is on in order to address and contain the spread of the already identified new virus strains before they cross even more country and continent lines, or before more new strains emerge. It is important to note though, that even if you are vaccinated – you may still be required to wear a mask as not everyone else around you will be vaccinated, and as always keep washing your hands, sanitising and keeping your distance as these are still the most effective methods of prevention.