First generation of coronavirus vaccine 'likely to be imperfect', says UK taskforce

A UK taskforce has voiced concerns that an early coronavirus vaccine"is likely to beimperfect" and that they "might not work for everyone".

According to a piece published in The Lancet medical journal, Kate Bingham,UK Vaccine Taskforce Chair said''we do not know that we will ever have a vaccine at all. It is important to guard against complacency and over-optimism."

"The first generation of vaccines is likely to beimperfect, and we should be prepared that they might not prevent infection but rather reduce symptoms, and, even then, might not work for everyone or for long," she added.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Bingham wrote that the Vaccine Taskforce recognises that "many, and possibly all, of these vaccines, could fail", adding the focus has been on vaccines that are expected to elicit immune responses in the population older than 65 years.

She said that the global manufacturing capacity for vaccines is vastly inadequate for the billions of doses that are needed and that the United Kingdom's manufacturing capability to date has been "equally scarce".

Meanwhile, British pharma giant AstraZeneca said on Monday trials of its coronavirusvaccinepioneered with Oxford University had shown "encouraging" responses among the elderly, as well as younger participants.

Earlier on Tuesday, a study by scientists at Imperial College London found that antibodies against the novel coronavirus declined rapidly in the British population during the summer, suggesting protection after infection may not be long-lasting and raising the prospect of waning immunity in the community.

The Telegraph newspaper reported that the British government is working on the assumption that the second wave of coronavirus will be more deadly than the first.