We still don’t know if current vaccines prevent people from transmitting the virus to others. Here’s why that matters in 2021.
Sandra Lindsay, a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, is given the COVID-19 vaccine – she is one of the first in the US to receive it.
EPA/Mark Lennihan
Here’s what we still need to find out before we can know when we’ll be able to return to our pre-coronavirus ways.
Francesca Passer, a registered pharmacist technician, carefully fills a syringe with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine at a vaccine clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Dec. 15, 2020.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Employers could require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 via both workplace policies and existing laws. Neither option, however, is simple or straightforward.
There have been a few accounts of patients who have tested positive, then negative, then positive again for COVID-19.
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So, if you have ever tested positive, there is a chance you could contract the virus again. And you could infect other people. You should still take the necessary precautions.
Efficient shipping and storage could prevent a lot of wasted vaccines.
AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool
COVID-19 vaccines have very specific storage requirements that make shipping a difficult task. Two ideas – fulfillment centers and cross-docking – could help overcome some distribution challenges.
Governments will need to determine how best to allocate COVID-19 vaccinations.
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When allocating resources, we prioritize members of the social groups we belong to, rather than including others in our allocations. This will determine how the COVID-19 vaccine is distributed.
The pharmaceutical industry opposes the suspension of intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, and no pharma companies have yet contributed to the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool.
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We should applaud drug companies for developing COVID-19 vaccines in record time, but let’s not be under any illusion about the profits that are motivating them.
The Nigerian government struggles to contain COVID-19 while other diseases suffer some measure of neglect
Photo by Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images
Over nine months into COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria, there are concerns about how well the country has managed the disease pandemic and how this might affect its handling of other diseases.
After receiving the vaccine, health systems have a complicated job ahead of them.
AP Photo/Ng Han Guan
Desi Kotis, University of California, San Francisco
Health systems around the US are on the cusp of receiving COVID-19 vaccines. At the end of this months-long effort are the nitty-gritty details of how health care providers are giving people the vaccine.
Although monetary incentives work, there are potential drawbacks.
Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images
Millions of Americans say they won’t get the vaccine. Will money change their minds? And is luring them with cash the right approach?
Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the University of Queensland laboratory earlier this year, ahead of today’s announcement its vaccine would not move to the next stage of clinical trials.
Darren England/AAP Image
Reports of two UK health workers having allergic reactions after receiving Pfizer’s COVID vaccine have led to safety warnings for others at risk of anaphylaxis.
The reason the vaccine appears to have worked better in participants who initially received only half a dose is still somewhat of a mystery.
Juan Miranda receives a flu shot from Yadira Santiago Banuelos, family nurse practitioner, at the Family Health Clinic of Monon in Monon, Indiana.
Purdue University/Rebecca McElhoe
Millions of Latinos may not get the influenza shot this year, which could be an indicator of whether they will get a COVID-19 shot. A rural clinic shows how building trust can help overcome reluctance.
At least three Chinese vaccines have been approved for emergency use, while phase 3 clinical trials are ongoing.
A nurse at the Royal Free Hospital in London simulates the administration of the Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 4, 2020 to support staff training ahead of the rollout in the United Kingdom.
(Yui Mok/Pool Photo via AP)
If supplies of COVID-19 vaccine are initially limited, who should be vaccinated first? A mathematical model shows when and why it’s best to start with the young, and when older people should go first.
Paediatrician at the Royal Childrens Hospital and Associate Professor and Clinician Scientist, University of Melbourne and MCRI, Murdoch Children's Research Institute