The Dutch Ministry of Health and WHO are apparently not well informed. They continue to insist that there is only one in 2021 a vaccine will hit the market, while the European Medicines Agency (EMA) claims there are end of 2020 all marketing authorizations could be issued. “Developments are moving fast,” said the EMA spokesperson.
Vaccines are being developed at a rapid pace and some are very promising. The usual test phases for the medium and long term are now skipped. But that is where one often sees the contenders dying! The promising drug turns out to be counterproductive and may not be allowed on the market.
But we are now in the middle of a situation where demand is enormous and supply limited. Anyone who can now be the first to develop an effective vaccine on a large scale can rake in millions (or even billions) of euros. And if the drug works long enough, the competitor will see the market quickly saturate.
It is therefore only logical that pharmaceutical companies want access to the European market as quickly as possible. And that safety (for both pharmaceutical companies and governments) has indeed become of secondary importance. Governments want to revive the economy and politicians want to be able to score with the solution that has led to this. But you cannot predict whether a vaccine will suddenly cause complaints in six months (or longer).
So what will be the final result? Vaccines are coming onto the market and are being bought at a rapid pace. People who have had themselves vaccinated are ‘allowed again’ and we are increasingly relieved that the risk of corona is almost over. If it turns out that complications do occur, what then? The pharmaceutical company no longer had to test for the long term and the government acted from an emergency situation. That means: no money back, no insurance, possibly additional medical costs and perhaps even more misery.
In any case, I am a bit apprehensive about it. And maybe a vaccine will soon work properly and we will ultimately not be bothered by anything. That would be nice. But I’m probably not the only one who wants to look at it for a while, whether it has a chip from Bill Gates or something! ????
