Vaccine will not completely stop COVID-19: S. Korean expert
- 4 years ago
"코로나19 백신 일러야 내년봄, 나와도 팬데믹 끝나지 않아"
While a vaccine for Covid-19 could come as early as next Spring, it will hardly be a silver bullet to end the pandemic.
In fact, there may never be a silver bullet that will magically save us from this respiratory, RNA virus.
It's a warning by a top clinical expert in South Korea and a view shared by many other scientists around the world.
Let's get more on that from our Kim Do-yeon.
Even if a vaccine is developed, that does not mean the end of the pandemic.
That's according to Professor Oh Myoung-don, who leads the central clinical committee for emerging disease control.
He explained Tuesday that when it comes to respiratory diseases, vaccines aren't a silver bullet.
That's a view other experts agree with as well.
"It's not easy to replicate the immunogenicity of respiratory viruses and the germs that cause respiratory infections. For example, flu vaccines have an efficacy rate of 60 to 70 percent. Another important fact is that COVID-19 is an RNA virus, so it continues to mutate."
In fact, the FDA's approval standard for COVID-19 vaccine is an efficacy rate of 50 percent.
Professor Oh said a vaccine could come as early as next spring.
Until then, people will need to take care of themselves through social distancing and personal hygiene.
As for South Korea raising the level of social distancing, he said he's not in a position to comment on quarantine measures, but he referred to the WHO Director-General's comments last Friday that lockdown is not a long-term solution though it may help to suppress transmission and take the pressure off a country's health system.
Dr. Oh also said it 's important for groups of individuals to refrain from singing, exercising, and conversing because this requires breathing through the mouth, which could expose them to more danger than breathing through the nose.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News
While a vaccine for Covid-19 could come as early as next Spring, it will hardly be a silver bullet to end the pandemic.
In fact, there may never be a silver bullet that will magically save us from this respiratory, RNA virus.
It's a warning by a top clinical expert in South Korea and a view shared by many other scientists around the world.
Let's get more on that from our Kim Do-yeon.
Even if a vaccine is developed, that does not mean the end of the pandemic.
That's according to Professor Oh Myoung-don, who leads the central clinical committee for emerging disease control.
He explained Tuesday that when it comes to respiratory diseases, vaccines aren't a silver bullet.
That's a view other experts agree with as well.
"It's not easy to replicate the immunogenicity of respiratory viruses and the germs that cause respiratory infections. For example, flu vaccines have an efficacy rate of 60 to 70 percent. Another important fact is that COVID-19 is an RNA virus, so it continues to mutate."
In fact, the FDA's approval standard for COVID-19 vaccine is an efficacy rate of 50 percent.
Professor Oh said a vaccine could come as early as next spring.
Until then, people will need to take care of themselves through social distancing and personal hygiene.
As for South Korea raising the level of social distancing, he said he's not in a position to comment on quarantine measures, but he referred to the WHO Director-General's comments last Friday that lockdown is not a long-term solution though it may help to suppress transmission and take the pressure off a country's health system.
Dr. Oh also said it 's important for groups of individuals to refrain from singing, exercising, and conversing because this requires breathing through the mouth, which could expose them to more danger than breathing through the nose.
Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News