Vaccine Hopes — and Realities

Many hope that at least one of the Covid-19 vaccine trials underway will prove successful by late fall, blazing a path to developing a vaccine by winter and containment of the virus by next summer. The goal is to conduct mass immunizations of the population, getting enough people protected to prevent community spread of the infection.

While it’s possible that those most at risk—health-care workers, first responders, and nursing-home residents—may receive the vaccine in time to reduce hospitalizations, protect hospitals from being overwhelmed, and avert many deaths by early next year, it’s probably overly optimistic to expect mass immunization in that time frame. While multiple Covid-prevention vaccine trials are planned or already underway, only one of the Covid-targeted vaccines, the so-called Oxford vaccine, has started its final human trial phase (with its first enrollment on May 28). Read Full Article »