The
person credited with saving the most lives ever is Edward Jenner, inventor of
the smallpox vaccine. The disease had a much higher mortality rate than the
novel coronavirus that is confining many people to their homes right now; about
80% of children and 60% of adults who contracted smallpox died of it.
In
the 20th century alone, it killed more than 300 million people before the
vaccine eradicated it worldwide in 1979.
The
polio vaccine is estimated to have saved 10 million people from paralysis just
since 1988, and prevented 500,000 deaths, according to the World Health
Organization.
A
global vaccination campaign for measles that began in 2000 prevented an
estimated 23 million deaths by 2018, the organization reported.
But
despite these extraordinary victories of science over disease, too many people
have forgotten or are unaware of the havoc that certain diseases visited on the
world before vaccines became available to fight them. This collective amnesia
has allowed for the rise of the anti-vaccine movement, whose irresponsible
adherents believe vaccines exist to line the pockets of Big Pharma.
They
ignore the fact that the smallpox vaccine was so overwhelmingly successful at
eradicating the disease that it no longer is routinely given. Then there are
the wild claims that autism is linked to vaccines, based on a fraudulent study
that was long ago debunked.
Are
anti-vaxxers ready to start believing in vaccines again?
As
social distancing and other efforts to rein in the spread of COVID-19 are
ramped up, people are understandably hoping for an Edward Jenner-like miracle
in the form of a vaccine that would protect against the virus. When a scourge
is upon us, immunization starts looking pretty good.
There’s
encouraging news on this score, and discouraging news as well. This week,
people have seen what seems like a bright promise in the darkness: a volunteer
in Seattle receiving the first dose of an experimental vaccine against the
novel coronavirus. It was developed by a Massachusetts company called Moderna,
one of dozens of companies searching for a vaccine across the world.
Israeli
officials recently announced that a group of research scientists there were on
the verge of offering a new vaccine candidate, as well. A San Diego biotech
company is also working on the problem.
The
speed of development has been made possible in part through the help of Chinese
scientists who worked on sequencing the genetic material of the virus that
causes COVID-19. But as fast as all this sounds, don’t expect a coronavirus
vaccine clinic to be opening near you anytime soon.
Despite
the claims of the anti-vaccine crowd that vaccines aren’t tested thoroughly
enough before coming to market, they actually go through a longer and tougher
process than most other drugs. Without fast-tracking, it usually takes 10 to 15
years for them to gain final approval in the United States.
The
experimental vaccine injected this week isn’t being tested for effectiveness
yet; it’s in the first phase of testing, which looks only at its safety for
humans. At least two more phases generally follow; they look at whether a
vaccine works and what the optimal dose levels are, in addition to continuing
to check for safety.
It’s
worth noting that many proposed vaccines never make it all the way to approval;
what looks promising at first often proves disappointing when subjected to
thorough testing.
In
urgent situations, vaccines can be fast-tracked, but fast is a relative term.
Public health officials have warned that even if these first vaccines continue
to look good, a fast-tracked vaccine won’t be available for 18 months, perhaps
a little bit sooner. And the vaccine approach used by Moderna, using genetic
material called messenger RNA, has not in the past resulted in any vaccine
being brought to market, although that doesn’t mean it couldn’t work.
Even
in dire situations, testing is critical. An ineffective vaccine could do more
harm than good by giving people the false impression that they’re protected.
But the United States and governments around the world should be supporting
these vaccine-development efforts in every way possible and fast-tracking those
that appear safe and effective.
COVID-19
is upending our lives and our economy; of course we want a vaccine to stop it
in its tracks as soon as possible. But come the time when — may it only happen
— vaccines have rendered COVID-19 just a memory, it’s frightening to think that
future generations who did not live through it may think of the vaccine as more
problematic than the disease.
A
Guest Editorial
