OPINION from UK: Political leaders are raising ‘false hopes’ about coronavirus vaccines

Political leaders are raising ‘false hopes’ about coronavirus vaccines Drugs now under development are unlikely to end the pandemic, the Wellcome Trust’s Jeremy Farrar warns the Guardian

Vaccines will not be a silver bullet to end the Covid-19 pandemic and leaders must avoid creating false hope, a key government adviser has warned.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, writes in today’s Observer that the first vaccines are likely to be only partially effective. Raising expectations and rushing new drugs into production risks damaging public trust in any vaccination programmes that eventually arrive, he said.

Farrar, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), also takes aim at “vaccine nationalism”, saying supplies need to be allocated fairly rather than hoarded by richer nations.

Vaccines in the UK should go first to those who need them most, he says, and he calls for action to prevent the virus spreading to vulnerable people from young adults, who are testing positive for Covid-19 at an increasing rate.

We are facing a chaotic stop-start winter for schools and businesses,” Farrar writes. “We have to do everything possible to avoid this. The first vaccine may not be a silver bullet that sends us back to normal in a matter of months, but by using doses wisely on people who most need them along with truthful, considered public health messaging that does not place false expectations, we will be in a strong position to avoid a repeat of early 2020.”

More than 170 research teams around the world are trying to find Covid-19 vaccines, and although nine have reached large-scale trials, there has never been any effective vaccine against a coronavirus before. ...

...wanting a vaccine to be ready by the time the polls open and getting one that is safe, effective and accepted by the American people are two very different things....