COVID-19 vaccines hold the key to the road back towards normality

Hopes for a return to more normal lives for all have soared with news of the vaccine roll-out. Here, medical experts unite in their reassurance to the public that vaccines meet strict standards of safety and effectiveness.

THE DIFFERENCES between these new vaccines and traditional ones are not that great. All vaccines work by mimicking the infection, tricking the body to believe you’ve got the infection so you then produce antibodies. Once you’ve got the antibodies, when you meet the real thing, your immune system can spring straight back into action.

These vaccines have been through phase 1, phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials like ordinary vaccines. The numbers of people involved in the trials were the same as you would expect for a normal ‘peacetime’ vaccine. The safety assessments and the assessments of effectiveness at the end are the same.

As Dr Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, said “safety is our watchword”. That’s the most important thing.

All the results we have so far show us the vaccine prevents infection that causes symptoms. The other thing that’s really important to people trying to deal with this public emergency is the effect coronavirus has on overwhelming hospital systems.

We’re hopeful all the vaccines that are proven to be effective will not only reduce illness and disease but will take out severe disease that puts people in hospital. Every single vaccine for use in the UK has been authorised by the MHRA. The three components of authorisation are safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality. All three have to have a tick before being authorised.

I don’t care which of the vaccines we’ve seen so far with good efficacy signals I have, providing the MHRA has authorised it, I’ll be having it.