Vaccine: production begins but distribution will take a long time

While the threats of containment are becoming clearer in several countries, especially in France, new hope is rising on the side of vaccines against Covid-19 or, obviously, things are accelerating.

Several signs show that we have entered decisive weeks.

The American laboratory Pfizer has started producing hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses in Belgium.

Another American laboratory, Moderna, announces that between 20 and 40 million doses will be ready to be inoculated by the end of the year.

These two labs have already carried out conclusive tests on at least 30,000 patients.

They enabled them to verify that there was no contraindication to the distribution of these products at this stage and they are only waiting for the green light from the health authorities to put them on the market.

But when will the vaccination campaigns really start?

For now, it's variable depending on the country.

In China, for example, we have taken the lead.

Even though clinical trials have not been completed, hundreds of thousands of Chinese people have already been vaccinated, mostly caregivers or exposed populations.

In Germany, the first vaccinations are promised in the first quarter of next year.

The authorities are already looking to locate warehouses where we can store doses that must be maintained between -60 and -100 degrees.

The schedule should be roughly the same in the United States, the same in France.

But we must still clarify one thing, it is that if we approach the goal, the first vaccinations will remain targeted.

We should not hope for any generalization until at least next summer.

But will all of these vaccines really work?

So here too caution!

For the moment several scenarios are being studied, but it is already certain that the first available vaccines will not provide 100% protection.

We will therefore have to wait for the following products to really hope to beat the epidemic.

And then, there is another condition which is not negligible, it is that of knowing to what extent the populations will accept to be vaccinated.

A recent Gallup poll in the United States showed that only 50% of the American population was ready for it.

So many unknowns and the lesson of all this is that there is hope, of course, but in the meantime we must especially not relax the social distancing measures which remain to this day the best defense against the disease. .

Daniel Fortin replaces Nicolas Barré this Monday, October 26, 2020.