Is anyone worried that there won’t be a vaccine by next March Break?

[isabellea]

I work in the the field of infectious diseases but not directly with vaccines. Do I believe in vaccines? YES! But what we have been discussing between colleagues is that they are cutting corners to get a vaccine on the market quickly. Unfortunately, for me, that means more chances of rare side effects like we saw with the H1N1 vaccine that came out quickly in 2009.

Again, I am pro-vaccine. But vaccines also have risks and everybody will have to decide for themselves if the risks are worth the benefits. If there's an approved vaccine available soon, I'll probably tell my parents to get it. But will I have my kids wait in line to receive it as soon as it's available? Probably not. While for my dad who is high-risk the benefits will probably outweigh any potential risk, that equation is very different with kids and therefore, I'll probably wait awhile before they get it. As for me? I don't know. I will have to read the PEER-REVIEWED literature on its safety and efficacy first before taking this decision for myself. Unfortunately, right now there is such a rush to get articles on COVID-19 and Sars-Cov2 out that peer-reviewed articles are scarce. I hope this dangerous trend stops soon and we go back to serious publication standards.