Even as the world is still facing the brunt of the deadly COVID-19 Novel Corona Virus, some researchers are nearing the finish line of identifying potential vaccines to combat the Virus. Though Russia has already registered two vaccines, they are yet to be unanimously accepted by the wider medical fraternity, as they have not yet completed the all-important Phase 3 clinical trials yet! Meanwhile, a number of other vaccine candidates are nearing the end stages of their Phase 3 testing, upon successful completion of which they would be moving into the production stage. Some vaccine candidates are expected to be moving into production even before the end of this year, to be ready for distribution in the first quarter of 2021! However, an expert from the UK has issued a dire warning!

Kate Bingham, the Chair of UK Government's Vaccine Taskforce, has warned that the initial batch of vaccines to rollout may not be completely perfect and might not work the same way for everybody being administered with it. She has deemed it very important manage expectations, as the early discoveries may not turn out to be the "silver bullet" the the world his hoping for, to battle the Pandemic. In an article for a medical journal, Kate Bingham wrote, "The first generation of vaccines is likely to be imperfect, and we should be prepared that they might not prevent infection but rather reduce symptoms and, even then might not work for everybody or for long."

Warning against complacency and over-optimism, Kate Bingham says that though the entire world believes vaccination to be the only true exit strategy from this global Pandemic situation, we should also be prepared to understand that there might not be a perfect vaccine at all. She also expressed her opinion that in the long-term, it might become possible that different population sets across the globe might need different kinds of vaccines, as the immunity levels also vary widely, more so based on age groups! The UK Vaccine Taskforce was set-up earlier this year to coordinate global efforts to identify a suitable vaccine against the Corona Virus. Kate Bingham also added that nobody is safe until we all are safe, as the Pandemic viruses do not respect global borders. The Taskforce has already obtained access to 6 vaccine candidates from among a possible estimate of 240 candidates and has committed to ensuring that everyone at risk of the COVID infection, anywhere in the world, obtains access to a safe and effective vaccine. Stay tuned for updates...