The vaccine against Covid-19 will have a significant effect during the summer of 2021, notably leading to a “drastic reduction in cases” of infection. But only in next year’s winter is that life should return to normal – what it was before the pandemic. Predictions are from Uğur Şahin, the Turkish scientist who created BioNTech who, in early November, announced to the world, together with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, that its vaccine candidate was more than 90% effective in preventing Covid-19.
I am very confident that transmission between people will be reduced by an effective vaccine – not by 90%, but perhaps by 50% – but we must not forget that even this can result in a drastic reduction in the spread of the pandemic“, saidin an interview with the BBC.
Scientist Uğur Şahin said that, if everything goes as planned, the vaccine should start to be distributed at the end of this year, beginning of the next. The goal, he explains, is to deliver more than 300 million doses worldwide until April 2021 – that will give to 150 million people since the vaccine should be administered in two doses.
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This distribution until April 2021 “could allow to start making an impact ” in the world, believes the scientist. However, the impact will not begin to be felt until later.
Summer will help us because the infection rate will drop in the summer and what is absolutely essential is that we have a high vaccination rate until or before the fall / winter of next year ”, he said.
Uğur Şahin also added that the “main side effects” of the vaccine detected so far have been mild to moderate pain at the injection site for a few days, although some volunteers have had mild to moderate fever for a similar period. “We did not detect any other serious side effects that would result in the study being paused or interrupted, ”he added.
The European Union has already purchased 200 million doses (giving to 100 million people) and this reserve will also serve Portugal. The director-general of Health, Graça Freitas, confirmed that this vaccine “is one of those that the country plans to acquire”.
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