WHO says healthy youngsters might get the COVID vaccine only in 2022!
Galatta | Oct 16, 2020, 08:40 pm
The COVID-19 Novel Corona Virus Pandemic is said to have originated from the Wuhan Province in China and has since spread to all corners of the world. What started towards the end of last year, turned into a worldwide Pandemic at the beginning of this year and after almost all the countries announced nation-wide lockdowns for nearly 6 months, the world is slowly limping back to normalcy. This too, is not because the virus has been eradicated but more because further lockdowns would totally wipe out the already flailing economies. However, in some countries like France and Sri Lanka, the second wave of the corona virus has prompted the countries' governments to announce a second phase of lockdown. Russia is the only country to announce the registering of a vaccine for COVID and recently it also announced its second vaccine but both these candidates have been met with mixed responses from members of the medical fraternity across the world!
Reports state that there are about 15 vaccine candidates across the world, which are in the most advanced stages of last phase testing and that they would be completed soon. There are said to be another 150 vaccine candidates which are in various levels of testing. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has announced that healthy youngsters might get the COVID vaccine, only in 2022 as they are the last priority. It is known well by now that the aged people and those with co-morbidities are the most vulnerable to the corona virus and are among the high priority to get the vaccine at the earliest. However, the frontline healthcare workers are the ones to get the vaccine first, as they are most likely to come in contact with the Virus, on a daily basis and need to be vaccinated first!
Top health officials from WHO have revealed that the elderly and most vulnerable groups would be the first priority to receive the COVID vaccine. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan - the Chief Scientist of WHO has reportedly stated that health workers, frontline workers and the elderly would be given the vaccine first. She also added that the WHO and advisory groups are working out the prioritisation details. Dr. Soumya also said, "People tend to think that on the 1st of January or the 1st of April, I'm going to get the vaccine and then things will be back to normal. However, it is not going to work like that." She also expressed hope that the world would have atleast one safe and effective COVID vaccine by 2021 but that it would only be available in limited quantities. She is reported to have said, "There will be a lot of guidance coming out (on how the vaccines have to be distributed and prioritised), but I think an average person, a healthy young person might have to wait until 2022 to get a vaccine."