COVID-19 vaccines
Peter Piot : New vaccines are the pandemic ’ s silver lining
Jabs are humanity ’ s main tool for preventing infectious disease
“ There are over 270 vaccine candidates in the pipeline at various stages of development ”
When we consider that it normally takes 10 years on average to develop a vaccine , from the first laboratory studies on small animals to its final roll-out , it ’ s quite incredible that we ’ ve already administered the first licensed anti- COVID-19 inoculations well within a year of the outset of the pandemic , Dr Peter Piot , a world-renowned microbiologist who advises the European Commission , told Medical Festival Asia , an online event coconceptualised by Global Health Asia-Pacific and Messe Düsseldorf Asia that took place last December .
“ One of the few silver linings of this epidemic has been the remarkable collaboration between governments , scientific disciplines , industry segments , and research institutions that has led to the lightning pace of development for vaccines ,” he said .
Since China was the first country to lock down on January 23 last year , it took just five months for the first drug — China ’ s CanSino vaccine — to be approved for use , although only for Chinese military personnel and emergency workers .
Britain followed as the first Western country to give regulatory approval for the widespread use of a COVID-19 vaccine on December 19 . Since then , hundreds of millions of people have been vaccinated around the world .
“ There are over 270 vaccine candidates in the pipeline at various stages of development ,” said Dr Piot . “ This is good because we have many different approaches to tackle this virus , meaning we have a better chance at being successful .”
With a wealth of experience in tackling viruses , the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine was most notably involved in the early response to the Ebola virus outbreak in Zaire as part of a team of Congolese , American , and Belgian researchers in 1976 .
He attributes the increase in emerging infectious diseases and epidemics in recent decades to largely environmental changes .
“ The reason for this is our failure to live in harmony with nature because what all these diseases have in
CanSino vaccine
52 APRIL 2021 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com