The 3 unanswered A’s the big pharma need to answer while making the big claim of more than 90% efficacy for COVID-19 vaccines in their trails
By: Kiran Krishnan
Tags: Virus, Humans, Vaccines, Covid 19, Safety

The 3 unanswered A’s the big pharma need to answer while making the big claim of more than 90% efficacy for COVID-19 vaccines in their trails Kiran Krishnan Dec 20, 2020·3 min read

COMBATING A NOVEL VIRUS

Vaccines are like twin edged swords, they can save lives or kill lives. While accines are not new, as they exist from several centuries ago aiding in prevention and eradication of several deadly diseases, but the current viral disease is new and so is its challenges in tackling them. Many big pharma companies are involved in the trails to provide hope or solution for humans in transiting to the next normal. Usually vaccine approval to production takes long time, as it is not child’s play to tinker with human life. Thus it is of paramount importance to answer the below three questions to instill confidence among the potential users of the vaccine such that the big claim of more than 90% efficacy is unflawed and any foul play in negated. The devil is in the details. Lets hope the devil is only imaginary.

1. Activity

Thousands and thousands of volunteers were used for the trails that consisted of equal number of candidates in vaccine groups and placebo groups. However, in these it is unknown what where the activity of the people who received the vaccine and placebo. What were they doing after they received the shots? What was their occupation? It is well known that, the more ones gets exposed in crowded areas, the more is the chance of one being infected. How many of these volunteers were working from home or idle without outdoor activities in both groups? What were the activity of the inhabitants or family members of the groups?

A doubtful human mind may say that the volunteers from vaccine group were all people who had limited activity or their family members with limited activity, with limited exposure to virus and thus was not infected. Lets not forget that events just can happen in random.

2. Area

The area from which the volunteers came from is crucial to disclose, as there is high-risk area, where the population is of high density and low risk area, which is sparingly populated. It is better off to divulge the data for the locality of where the groups belong. Moreover there are certain areas where the affluent section of people live who can afford better control measures than those areas where the poor people live where there may be some lapse in control measures.

A sceptic may argue that although the volunteers are randomly recruited from different areas yet there is always a possibility that whomever who was infected with the virus may be from high-risk area. In addition, there are various strains of coronavirus from least harmful to deadly. Some areas harbor the deadly ones and the placebo group members may have been unlucky to be in areas of deadly corona virus. Only data can clear this doubt of what was the nature of virus that infected them.

3. Asymptotic

Being Asymptotic is more dangerous than with symptoms as in these trails the participants are not tested for the virus after receiving their shot rather only those who display symptoms are being tested for corona positive or negative. This opens a big Pandora box, as no one will be able to answer the question of whether the person who received the vaccine but is asymptotic can how long remain without symptoms.

To clear this doubt it will be useful to test the vaccine receiver in periodic intervals to prove that the vaccine provides lasting immunity rather than waiting for the symptoms to show up. Only time will tell whether the pharma companies will take this initiative to instill confidence in the minds of the layman.

It is said that the proof of pudding is in eating, but unlike pudding, which anyone can have at any time, vaccines are no pudding to just inject at ones vims and fancies.

Safety is of utmost priority and when gone down the history, it should not become the case of the proverbial “Bringing snakes to counter frogs, later snakes become the problem”. Let us hope that in due course of time, more information is available in public domain to clear the darkness surrounding vaccines and it is truly the elixir of humankind.