Uni expert urges caution on coronavirus vaccines
Fears public could react badly if success rate is much lower than predicted
A PHARMACEUTICALS expert and researcher from Huddersfield has urged for more caution over claims Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective.
In recent days the firms behind two of the vaccines set to be offered to the British public to end the coronavirus crisis - Pfizer and Moderna - have both claimed their new drugs were 95 per cent effective in protecting the public from infection.
But Dr Hamid Merchant, Subject Leader in Pharmacy at Huddersfield University, said there were many reasons why such efficacy claims were premature and likely to be proven incorrect in the long term.
He has provided several reasons why he claims the vaccines are likely to be far less effective, including:
Both companies’ trials were done on a far too small sample of positive cases to be confident in their results
Trial subjects were living under the ‘new normal’ conditions with social distancing, face coverings and hand hygiene. That makes the risk of contracting the virus lower than if the ‘hands, face, space’ guidelines were dropped.
The antibody levels of the trialists was not known
Uncertainty over how long immunity lasts
Certain demographics around the world will benefit less from the vaccine
In a letter published by the British Medical Journal, he said: “In light of the above, the actual efficacy of the vaccine is likely to be much lower.
“This publicity, no doubt, has given the world great hope but can be disappointing to the public when the long-term efficacy was not as good as claimed... the public may react badly.
“This may also fuel anti-vaccine thoughts and is not in the greater interest of public safety and may jeopardise their trust in science and medicine.
“The mass publicity and celebration of the interim results, therefore, was a very bad idea and likely to have adverse implications.”
Meanwhile, Huddersfield University has begun mass testing of its students to allow them to go home for Christmas knowing that they are not carrying Covid-19 home to their families.
The university is encouraging people who don’t have any symptoms to get tested twice before they travel.
This may also fuel antivaccine thoughts and is not in the greater interest
of public safety.