Vaccines on the horizon

Writer De Waal Steyn

By all accounts the world is in dire need of a Covid-19 vaccine and it is expected that the first doses will be ready to be administered by as early as mid-December, most probably to frontline medical personnel in America.

According to reports, South Africans are likely to get a Covid-19 vaccine in the second quarter of next year, with healthcare professionals being first in line, followed by the elderly.

Over the past few months there has been much speculation on when vaccines will be ready, and how effective and accessible they will be. There has been good news of late with three pharmaceutical giants revealing that their vaccine trials are showing promising results.

The coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer has proven to be 95% effective, while the Moderna vaccine reduced the risk of catching the virus by 94.5%. It was also announced that the Oxford vaccine showed a strong immune response in especially the elderly. The news comes as most of Europe is experiencing a second wave of the virus and local infection rates are beginning to rise.

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