Keep faith in vaccine

Safety is ‘not compromised’

TRUST in COVID-19 vaccines was put to the test this week, with some patients developing allergic reactions to the Pfizer vaccine and the University of Queensland vaccine falling over.

Scientists around the world are counselling the public not to be concerned because these pitfalls are a normal part of the scientific process.

The Oxford University scientist who developed AstraZeneca’s successful COVID-19 vaccine has urged people to trust the jab, even though it took less than a year to develop.

As the first vaccines against COVID-19 begin to be rolled out this week, health experts’ biggest concern is that not enough people will come forward to be vaccinated because they fear it is not safe.

One in four Australians told the Royal Children’s Hospital National Child Health Poll in June they were unsure or unwilling to accept a COVID-19 vaccine.

This week, two UK nurses who suffer from severe allergies developed an allergic reaction to the Pfizer vaccine, but regulators acted quickly to advise those with anaphylaxis not to have the vaccine.

Australia’s CSL began making 30 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine last month, and the first batch will be ready by Christmas. Australians will get it from March next year.

Oxford University’s Professor Sarah Gilbert has moved to reassure people that safety has not been sacrificed by the speed of development.

Even though AstraZeneca’s vaccine was developed in record time, scientists had been working on the adenovirus platform used to make it for a decade, Professor Gilbert told the Intelligence Squared podcast.

“I started doing clinical trials with that back in 2009,” she said.