We can see a light at the end of the COVID tunnel, but we still have to be diligent

Finally, a light at the end of the viral tunnel. Pfizer-BioNTech announced their new vaccine is over 90 percent effective in preventing disease. This is far superior to anyone’s wildest dreams. Granted the safety data is not fully in; but when confronted with the reality of a high-risk individual contracting a dangerous virus which attacks every organ in the body, a vaccine doesn’t have to have a stellar safety profile for one to opt to receive it.

One of the challenges of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is that it requires two doses and must be distributed on dry ice. That is -100 degrees Fahrenheit. There will also only be enough doses available to vaccinate 25 million individuals, well under 10 percent of the population. But most importantly, we are not sure how long the immunity will last.

Thus, all of us must embrace the wearing of masks plus social distancing, to not only protect ourselves, but most importantly we have to slow the spread of this disease.

The reassurance that viral mutations will not affect the vaccine appears to be a false narrative. Just visit the website http//:nextstrain.org to see how rapidly the virus has mutated over time and distance.

The genetic code of the virus’ all-important spike protein is well known. This is the basis for vaccines and our immunity. Scientists have found that a single amino acid substitution in the genetic code significantly changes the spike protein. A Peking University research lab in Beijing, China has made 106 mutant viruses and found 10 mutants which are resistant to monoclonal antibodies.

Although I’m sure all of us reflexively will ask, why are researchers doing this type of research? The answer is, we need to know what can happen, since nature is much more efficient at creating mutations, especially when viruses jump between species.

Recently, the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark has reported that “a new mutated COVID-19 virus in mink that can affect the effect of a vaccine” and they are “painfully aware of what this means for all the Danish mink farmers who are about to lose their livelihood …” And tests from 12 infected individuals found that potential vaccines would not work effectively.

The coronavirus deniers can learn two lessons from Denmark. First, this virus is serious. A farm industry would not be devastated by culling approximately 17 million minks if the virus was innocuous. Second, although there are already a plethora of reasons why herd immunity is not viable, now there is now another one. The herd is just not humans. It is made up of a number of other species and may include dogs and cats. Every time the virus jumps from one to the other, the chances of mutation increases.

We can now see a light at the end of the tunnel but let’s not brick up the end. We must slow down the transmission of this virus, so nature’s lab does not outpace our pharmaceutical giants. If a safe and effective vaccine is available, please take the vaccine and encourage others to receive it. And wear a mask along with social distancing. This needs to become an accepted norm of our society. If you have a cold or the flu, wear a mask. We must build our public health infrastructure: including testing capabilities, a universal reporting system and a strategic stockpile of supplies. Once this coronavirus is defeated, we need to remember, another will almost assuredly emerge in the future but with preparation and lessons learned we can beat the next one back, similar to what is being done in Southeast Asia.

Kevin Kavanagh is the founder of Health Watch USA.