An editorial co-authored by a member of the UK’s influential SAGE committee that advises the UK Government on COVID-19, and published in Anaesthesia (a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) says that in order for the global COVID-19 vaccination program to be successful, the available vaccines must be able to do all three of: prevent infection becoming established in an individual, prevent disease progression and prevent onward transmission. “
An editorial co-authored by a member of the UK’s influential SAGE committee that advises the UK Government on COVID-19, and published in Anaesthesia (a journal of the Association of Anaesthetists) says that in order for the global COVID-19 vaccination program to be successful, the available vaccines must be able to do all three of: prevent infection becoming established in an individual, prevent disease progression and prevent onward transmission. “Whether all three of these goals will be met by ‘first generation’ vaccines is not known, but is vital to the long-term success of the program,” explain co-authors Prof Sir Jeremy Farrar, Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and director of the Wellcome Trust, London, UK, and Prof Tim Cook, Consultant in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Bath, UK and Honorary Professor, School of Medicine, University of Bristol, UK..
“Preventing onward transmission – referred to as ‘sterilising immunity’ is particularly important as it is epidemic modifying. “It is possible that the first vaccines, including those being released now, may be more effective in preventing disease progression and hospitalisation and less effective in preventing transmission. Knowledge of their performance in pre-approval trials and in surveillance trials after licensure will enable further modifications such that improved second and third generation vaccines may be available later in 2021 and beyond.”
They also emphasise the importance of prioritising those most vulnerable and healthcare workers before the wider population. The authors state “Vaccination is a global rather than a national necessity. The WHO ACT-accelerator and COVAX initiatives both emphasise the importance of vaccines reaching the most vulnerable and healthcare workers in all countries at a similar time. Widespread vaccination of one or a few countries without addressing this need globally is in no one’s interests and will not provide the protection we all need.”
Locally they refer to the vast scale of the vaccination effort required, saying: “The scale of the UK vaccination program should not be underestimated: 1000 vaccination centres each vaccinating 500 people a day 5-days a week, without interruptions of supply or delivery, would take almost a year to provide two doses to the UK population. No country has mounted a whole population vaccination campaign in living memory, and it will need to be undertaken with local leadership and cultural sensitivity.”
Read more at AAGBI
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