New virus vaccine a glimmer of hope

As many countries go back into lockdown and infections and deaths continue, perhaps only a vaccine can truly free us of the coronavirus curse. While it is still early days – and the reality is that some vaccines can take years to perfect and bring to market – the news is confirmation that, with the combined brainpower of humankind, no situation is too bleak.

The problem will be in ensuring that a Covid-19 vaccine – whether this one or any one of the dozens of others in development around the world – is distributed quickly and equitably. It must not be that the life-saving medication is priced too high for it to be affordable to poorer nations and citizens.

Another stumbling block to equity in distribution is that the vaccine – administered in a two-shot dose – must be kept hyper-chilled right up until the moment it is administered. This militates against effective inoculation in developing countries where infrastructure is poor.

But we can at least, for the first time in months, start to hope.

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