WHO chief scientist not confident vaccines prevent transmission
Even people who have received the vaccine could infect others, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan warns
Author of the article:National Post Staff
Publishing date
ec 29, 2020 • Last Updated 3 hours ago • 2 minute read
A patient with the COVID-19 breaths in oxygen in the COVID-19 ward at Khayelitsha Hospital in South Africa, on December 29, 2020. PHOTO BY RODGER BOSCH/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
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Officials at the World Health Organization warned that the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged every corner of the world “is not necessarily the big one” — and that the novel coronavirus may never truly go away.
What’s more, chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said the WHO hasn’t yet determined whether the approved vaccines being administered in Canada, the U.S. and Europe are effective at preventing transmission, the Guardian reported.
“I don’t believe we have the evidence on any of the vaccines to be confident that it’s going to prevent people from actually getting the infection and therefore being able to pass it on,” Swaminathan said.
The top three vaccines — Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca — have been found in large trials to prevent recipients from becoming sick or seriously ill, but researchers are still trying to determine whether the vaccines prevent the virus from spreading from the recipient to others.
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Even if people have received the vaccine, countries still need to assume that they should adhere to public health measures such as social distancing. If a vaccine recipient wants to travel, he should still be required to quarantine.
Moderna’s chief medical officer said last month he believes his company’s vaccine would prevent transmission of the virus but there is not yet “sufficient evidence” of that yet.
“When we start the deployment of this vaccine we will not have sufficient concrete data to prove that this vaccine reduces transmission,” Tal Zaks told Axios.
The first goal of the vaccine was meant to prevent symptomatic disease, severe disease and deaths, Swaminathan said.
Dr. Mark Ryan, the head of the WHO emergencies program, said after that first goal has been tackled, “we will deal with the moonshot of potentially being able to eliminate or eradicate the virus.”
Ryan said, “The existence of a vaccine, even at high efficacy, is no guarantee of eliminating or eradicating an infectious disease. That is a very high bar for us to be able to get over.”
Instead, the “destiny” of the virus is to become endemic, said David Heymann, the chair of the WHO’s strategic and technical advisory group for infectious hazards.
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Heymann said the world hoped for herd immunity but the concept of herd immunity was misunderstood. Like other human coronaviruses, COVID-19 will continue to mutate and reproduce in human cells.
“This pandemic has been very severe … it has affected every corner of this planet. But this is not necessarily the big one,” Ryan said.
However, if there’s one thing 2020 provided the world with, it’s perspective and lessons learned.
“This is a wake-up call. We are learning, now, how to do things better: science, logistics, training and governance, how to communicate better. But the planet is fragile,” said Ryan.
“We live in an increasingly complex global society. These threats will continue. If there is one thing we need to take from this pandemic, with all of the tragedy and loss, is we need to get our act together. We need to honour those we’ve lost by getting better at what we do every day.”
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Even people who have received the vaccine could infect others, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan warns
Author of the article:National Post Staff
Publishing date
ec 29, 2020 • Last Updated 3 hours ago • 2 minute read A patient with the COVID-19 breaths in oxygen in the COVID-19 ward at Khayelitsha Hospital in South Africa, on December 29, 2020. PHOTO BY RODGER BOSCH/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Article content
Officials at the World Health Organization warned that the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged every corner of the world “is not necessarily the big one” — and that the novel coronavirus may never truly go away.
What’s more, chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said the WHO hasn’t yet determined whether the approved vaccines being administered in Canada, the U.S. and Europe are effective at preventing transmission, the Guardian reported.
“I don’t believe we have the evidence on any of the vaccines to be confident that it’s going to prevent people from actually getting the infection and therefore being able to pass it on,” Swaminathan said.
The top three vaccines — Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca — have been found in large trials to prevent recipients from becoming sick or seriously ill, but researchers are still trying to determine whether the vaccines prevent the virus from spreading from the recipient to others.
Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content continued
Even if people have received the vaccine, countries still need to assume that they should adhere to public health measures such as social distancing. If a vaccine recipient wants to travel, he should still be required to quarantine.
Moderna’s chief medical officer said last month he believes his company’s vaccine would prevent transmission of the virus but there is not yet “sufficient evidence” of that yet.
“When we start the deployment of this vaccine we will not have sufficient concrete data to prove that this vaccine reduces transmission,” Tal Zaks told Axios.
The first goal of the vaccine was meant to prevent symptomatic disease, severe disease and deaths, Swaminathan said.
Dr. Mark Ryan, the head of the WHO emergencies program, said after that first goal has been tackled, “we will deal with the moonshot of potentially being able to eliminate or eradicate the virus.”
Ryan said, “The existence of a vaccine, even at high efficacy, is no guarantee of eliminating or eradicating an infectious disease. That is a very high bar for us to be able to get over.”
Instead, the “destiny” of the virus is to become endemic, said David Heymann, the chair of the WHO’s strategic and technical advisory group for infectious hazards.
US Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), on Tuesday blocked an attempt by Democrats to increase direct stimulus payments in the newly enacted Covid-19 relief bill from $600 to $2,000.
Trump tweets support for Bernie Sander’s threat to filibuster the Senate over $2,000 relief checks
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, photographed during his daily news conference at 10 Downing Street on May 25, 2020, has been allowed to take exercise in the grounds of Buckingham Place.
Britain could be due for third national lockdown as country smashes daily record with over 40,000 new cases
Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content continued
Heymann said the world hoped for herd immunity but the concept of herd immunity was misunderstood. Like other human coronaviruses, COVID-19 will continue to mutate and reproduce in human cells.
“This pandemic has been very severe … it has affected every corner of this planet. But this is not necessarily the big one,” Ryan said.
However, if there’s one thing 2020 provided the world with, it’s perspective and lessons learned.
“This is a wake-up call. We are learning, now, how to do things better: science, logistics, training and governance, how to communicate better. But the planet is fragile,” said Ryan.
“We live in an increasingly complex global society. These threats will continue. If there is one thing we need to take from this pandemic, with all of the tragedy and loss, is we need to get our act together. We need to honour those we’ve lost by getting better at what we do every day.”
Share this article in your social network
Share via email
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Open more share options
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Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
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By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300
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Article Comments
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Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
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